Mayor Adams’ legal defense trust returned seven of eight contributions from the family business of Madison Square Garden king James Dolan within days of receiving them, new records reveal — a move that added strain to an already limited fund of money.
The records do not show why the trust did not return all of the Dolan donations, which raised ethical concerns earlier this year because of the billionaire MSG owner’s extensive business interests before the Adams administration.
The trust, which Adams uses to cover his mounting legal bills amid his federal indictment, received four of Dolan’s seven donations returned on July 10. Fifteen days later, the trust returned all four of those $5,000 donations to Dolan’s grown son, Quentin. ; father, Charles; and two MSG executives, Gregg Seibert and Donna Coleman, confirm the new data reviewed by the Daily News.
The remaining three donations, all also at the legal maximum of $5,000, came from James Dolan himself on July 26, his other grown son, Ryan Dolan, on June 26 and Irving Azoff, a longtime business partner of Dolan’s. on July 15. All three were also returned from the trust within days, with the last refund, of James Dolan’s contribution, processed on Aug. 14, records show.
Records show Adams’ trust did not return a $5,000 donation made on July 15 by one of Dolan’s other grown sons, Aidan, who, like his brothers, is an executive at MSG Entertainment. to his father.
Adams’ re-election campaign, which is also facing cash-related problems, has not returned any of the $16,800 it received from Dolan, his sons, father and business associates at one time this summer, records show .
Vito Pitta, an Adams confidante and campaign 2025 compliance attorney, did not return a request for comment this week, nor did representatives for Dolan.
In total, the trust returned $35,000 in cash to the Dolan family and business, records show. With most of Dolan’s funds relinquished, Adams’ trust reached just $62,500 between July 1 and Sept. 30, the lowest fundraising stretch since the mayor launched the fund in late 2023.
Even with Dolan’s money at stake, the trust was in the red as of Sept. 30, having spent more than it raised, much of it to cover the hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees the mayor is racking up each month.
On September 26, federal prosecutors in Manhattan indicted Adams on criminal charges alleging that he took bribes and illegal campaign money from Turkish government officials and others in exchange for political favors. Adams, who has pleaded not guilty, is set to go on trial in April and that will certainly mean higher legal bills, especially since he recently hired a new attorney, Alex Spiro, who is known to charge clients $2000 an hour.
When the Adams Trust’s latest public disclosure first came out in mid-October, Dolan’s wave of donations prompted outrage from local lawmakers and government watchdogs, who noted that MSG’s owner’s corporate empire has diverse business interests. over which the mayor has influence, including a permit The Garden depends on the operation.
Updated records reflecting Dolan’s contribution refunds were not disclosed by the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board until late October or November and have not been previously reported.
Under local law, individuals listed in the city government’s doing business database are prohibited from donating funds to the mayor’s legal defense, as are the children and spouses of anyone listed in the database.
James Dolan is not personally listed in the database, but some of his companies are, including MSG Entertainment Holdings, because of their business relationships with the city government.
Adams’ trust is due to reveal an update on its finances in mid-January. In October, Pitta said the trust is expected to begin raising more money following Adams’ indictment as “his defense enters a new phase.”
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