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By: Ellen Cans
In September, federal prosecutors had seized the phones of three brothers—Philip B. Banks III, deputy mayor for public safety; New York City schools chancellor David C. Banks; and their youngest brother Terence Banks, who runs a consulting firm, some of whom have enjoyed government contracts.
On Monday, David Banks, who ran the largest school system in the country, resigned from his position, ABC News reported. This is the latest in a long series of resignations surrounding an expansive bribery investigation plaguing Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.
“We spoke yesterday and we spoke again this morning and he stated he wants to move on to other things in his life,” Mayor Adams told NY1. “I wish my good friend well.” Also, David Banks’ wife, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright is arranging her resignation from the administration.
The Banks brothers have denied any wrongdoing. As reported by the NY Times, David Banks said in a statement that federal prosecutors told his lawyer that he was not actually a target in the investigation. A lawyer for Philip Banks said he expected his client will be cleared of any misconduct or crimes. Terence Banks’ lawyer said that the federal investigation was a bribery inquiry, but that no bribery had taken place to their knowledge.
Still, the inquiry has undoubtedly surrounded the brothers, even if only because of the tremendous power wielded to them over the last two and a half years. A recent article in the NY Times, delved into the brothers’ extraordinary rise to power, and their ongoing friendship with Mayor Adams. “We have a long relationship — that includes every member of the Banks family,” Mr. Adams said last month, before his indictment. “And I will continue to have a relationship with the Banks family.”
The Banks family ties to Mr. Adams dates back to the 1980s, when the future mayor was a young transit police officer. At that time, their father, Philip Banks Jr., was a trailblazing Black law enforcer, who became a mentor to Adams. Per the Times, David Banks was a star student, became a teacher after graduating, went on to earn a law degree, and went to worked at the state attorney general’s office. David later ended up back in school as an ambitious principal who emphasized discipline and mentoring for Blacks and Hispanics.
Philip Banks had joined the Police Department in 1986, and soon rose to the rank of lieutenant. By 2010, then police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, promoted Philip III to chief of community affairs, making him the highest-ranking Black officer on the force. In 2013, he was again promoted to chief of department— the highest-uniformed position in the NYPD.
Per the NY Times, when Adam’s became mayor in 2022, David Banks was his first appointment at the commissioner level. It was also Adams who named Philip Banks III as the city’s chief public safety official— even despite a nearly decade-old corruption scandal which had brought an end to Mr. Banks’s career at the Police Department.
Banks had not been charged in that bribery case but was labeled as an “unindicted co-conspirator”. Also, Mr. Adams appointed Sheena Wright, David Banks’s longtime partner, to be first deputy mayor in late 2022. Mr. Banks and Ms. Wright were married late last month. Terence Banks was also named as one of hundreds of unpaid appointees to Mr. Adams’s transition team.
