It's a different definition of road violence.
Two members of a powerful Brooklyn theatrical production family bribed Mayor Adams's chief adviser in a successful pay-to-play effort to block a safety redesign of McGuinness Boulevard after city transportation officials had declared it a crucial life-saving project, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said on Thursday.
Gina and Tony Argento were charged by Bragg with bribery for their part in a "conspiracy" to give the mayor's top aide, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, "a monetary payment and other benefits, including a speaking role in a television production and catering services for an event at Gracie Mansion."
Court papers show that the corruption was almost trifling in terms of its monetary value: A single bribe of $2,500, a single cameo on a TV show, and catering services of roughly $10,000. For this, the Argentos are facing up to 11 years in prison for the conspiracy and bribery charges, under New York State sentencing guidelines.
As the effort to intervene on behalf of the Argentos to thwart the McGuinness Boulevard street safety project was unfolding, Lewis-Martin got a cameo in episode three of the third season of Hulu series "Godfather of Harlem," which is filmed at Broadway Stages, according to the indictment. The episode aired on Jan. 29, 2023, and Lewis-Martin joked to both Gina and Tony Argento that she hoped to springboard from the cameo, for which she was paid $806.31 to getting membership in the Screen Actors Guild. In the scene, Lewis-Martin was standing at a bar and exchanged two lines of banal pleasantries with Forest Whitaker in the titular role.
But that was just a small-time favor compared to what was to come.
Within weeks, Lewis-Martin was already working behind the scenes on behalf of the Argentos to alter the Department of Transportation's full safety redesign, according to the court papers. On June 7, 2023, she sent messages to get a meeting with the mayor "about McGuiness [sic] Blvd."
What follows next is crucial. According to the court papers:
- "On June 15, 2023, Broadway Stages hosted a town hall meeting with DOT officials regarding the proposed McGuinness Boulevard redesign plan."
- "On June 26, 2023, Gina Argento sent $2,500 via Zelle to Ingrid Lewis-Martin."
- "On July 3, 2023, Ingrid Lewis-Martin sent an email to the DOT Commissioner and others concerning the McGuinness Boulevard redesign project which read: "[An unnamed City Hall employee] will be my point person. I would like to ensure that I know when and where the meetings are. I may want to participate or audit." [The unnamed employee is possibly Richard Bearak, a City Hall loyalist who played a longstanding role in assisting Lewis-Martin in her efforts to stop street-safety projects, as Streetsblog reported.]
- "On July 8, 2023, Gina Argento sent Ingrid Lewis-Martin a text message with a copy of a flyer by the organization 'Make McGuinness Safe.'" [Editor's note: Make McGuinness Safe was the main pro-redesign advocacy group working with DOT on the project.]
- "On July 8, 2023, Ingrid Lewis-Martin sent a text message in response to Gina Argento, which read: 'We do not care what they say. We are ignoring them and continuing with our plan. They can kiss my ass.'"
- In a phone call on Jan. 22, 2024, Ingrid Lewis-Martin asked Gina Argento to arrange the delivery of clothing items from Bloomingdale's to a residence in New York County." [The residence was Lewis-Martin's.]
- "On April 18, 2024, Ingrid Lewis-Martin had a phone conversation with Anthony 'Tony' Argento ... in which Anthony 'Tony' Argento told Ingrid Lewis-Martin that he and [unnamed person] were negotiating to get Ingrid Lewis-Martin another acting role."
- "In a phone call on April 22, 2024, Ingrid Lewis-Martin told [her point person at City Hall]: 'Just make sure we shut their asses down on McGuinness.'"
But there would be more smoking guns, according to court papers. A few weeks later, Lewis-Martin asked the Argentos to get her a role on "Blue Bloods," which also filmed in Greenpoint. Tony Argento said he would try. And then, a few days after that, Lewis-Martin asked the Argentos to "pay for the catering services for an event that Ingrid Lewis-Martin planned to host at Gracie Mansion."
Gina Argento agreed, court papers show. That event was on Aug. 17, 2024. The catering bill eaten by the Argentos was $10,887.50, according to court papers.
Shortly thereafter, Lewis-Martin and Gina Argento's phones were seized by investigators working the corruption case. At the time, the Argentos denied any corruption. But days after both women's phones were seized, City Hall suddenly pushed ahead with a truncated version of the safety plan, and Broadway Stages even put out a conciliatory press release. At the time, it was clear that investigators had discovered something.
It's worth noting that the effort to redesign McGuinness Boulevard dates back more than a decade, but was jump-started in May 2021 after a beloved local teacher, Matthew Jensen, was killed by a hit-and-run driver on McGuinness, making him the 12th pedestrian (plus three cyclists) killed since 1995.
Numbers like that prompted the de Blasio administration to pledge $40 million towards a complete redesign. Advocates hailed the effort, but opponents, organized by the Argentos, resisted — and, according to court papers, backed up their concerns with money, gifts and a Hollywood cameo.
Update: Both Lewis-Martin and the Argentos pleaded not guilty at their arraignment in Manhattan on Thursday. As they were walked past reporters, Gina and Tony Argento were asked if they regretted their actions on McGuinness.
Neither answered.
This is a developing and admittedly rough story. Check back for updates. We are reaching out to City Hall, but on Wednesday, before the indictment of the Argentos, City Hall spokesperson Kayla Altus didn't answer our specific question about the quid-pro-quo, saying, "Mayor Adams was not involved in this matter and has not been accused of or implicated in any wrongdoing. ... Ingrid Lewis-Martin no longer works for this administration.”
