Antonio Reynoso says Turkish officials tried bribing him with tea sets after being sworn in Brooklyn borough president

Reynoso also turned down a trip to Turkey offered by the Turkish government, he said in a PIX 11 interview Monday.
“It seems that (Adams’) office in the past gave them an opportunity in the past and they tried to take that with me as well,” he said.

“Looking back, he says he now can see why,” tweeted PIX11 anchor Dan Mannarino about the Reynoso interview.
The two gifts that Reynoso turned down echo the Turkish perks and goodies that federal prosecutors said Adams happily scooped up during his tenure as Brooklyn’s borough president — and now form the backbone of a historic bribery and corruption indictment against him.
Adams, who served as borough president between 2014 and 2021, reaped more than $100,000 worth of free or heavily discounted travel perks from Turkish officials and nationals, including business class upgrades on international flights, luxury hotel stays, free meals and fancy boat tours, according to the 57-page indictment.
The feds contend Adams’ willingness to take bribes effectively put him in the pocket of the Turkish government when they needed him to return favors, notably by leaning on the FDNY to open a 36-story skyscraper called the Turkish House despite safety concerns.
Reynoso was elected borough president in the same 2021 election that swept Adams into Gracie Mansion.
He told PIX11 that the Turkish consulate during a meeting early in his borough president tenure invited him out to Turkey.
“They said they would ‘take care of it,’” he said.
“They had mentioned the mayor’s travel to Turkey before, and they had said we want you to travel as well,” he said. “Looking back, I definitely feel it was an intro to building a good relationship with me through gifts and so forth.”
The offer raised alarms with Reynoso, who noted that clearing international travel for elected New York City officials is a complicated process to avoid conflicts of interest.
He said Turkish officials also tried to gift him and his staff eight “elaborate” porcelain, gold-plated tea sets which his general counsel returned.
Reynoso initially thought that the Turkish consulate was ignorant to the process of avoiding graft in the city.
“Now, looking at everything, they knew very well what they can and can’t do,” he said.
The Turkey accusations against Adams led to the first federal charges against a sitting New York City mayor – but they’re not the first time a one-time Brooklyn borough president faced potential consequences for accepting free travel from the Turkish government.
Marty Markowitz, who served as Brooklyn’s borough president right before Adams, received a $20,000 fine in 2011 from the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board for accepting free flights for his wife to accompany him on two trips to Turkey, records first highlighted by a Bloomberg News reporter show.
While the board signed off on Markowitz accepting the free Turkish travel because it counted as official business, it notably did not for his wife, records show.
Markowitz disagreed with the decision, but still disclosed to the board that his wife went along for free – a fact that the records state ultimately led to the fine.
“Indeed, it appears that respondent erred on the side of caution and voluntarily reported more than he was required to disclose,” the records state.
Adams did not disclose more than $123,000 worth of travel perks he received from Turkish officials and nationals over several years, prosecutors contend.