You know, as an honorary Chinese person, you have some explaining to do here. Okay. All right. I take that role on. Yes. Kidding aside, my wife is Chinese and my kids are obviously half Chinese. Yeah, but we're obviously all Americans. [00:00:15] But I will tell you about Chinese culture in this story. And it has nothing to do with the bribe you're about to hear about. - Okay. - All right. This story is amazing. Okay. Did one of Eric Adams's former advisers literally tried to bribe a local reporter in New York City? [00:00:32] That's the big question today, after this bizarre incident involving a New York City Hall reporter by the name of Katie Honan, who writes for an outlet called The City. Now, her interaction with a now former adviser to Eric Adams was fascinating. [00:00:49] But before we get to that, let me just give you some background of the other individual involved. The adviser herself. Her name is Winnie Greco. So the woman, Winnie Greco, is a prolific fundraiser for Eric Adams. [00:01:04] Okay. And she even served as his director of Asian affairs. Now, last year, her homes were raided by the FBI as they were investigating whether the Chinese government had interfered in the 2021 New York City mayoral election, [00:01:21] which sounds like a pretty big deal. According to The New York Times, Greco has extensive dealings with people and groups connected to the Chinese Communist Party, and over the years she connected Adams, allegedly with some [00:01:37] of those people and groups. And she also organized several trips to China, which Adams attended, and she even discouraged him from visiting Taiwan once. So, you know, lots of fishy stuff here, but no proof of anything terrible. [00:01:54] No evidence of wrongdoing yet, at least now. Greco resigned from her official position last year, but she now volunteers for Eric Adams's reelection campaign. Now, with that context in mind, let's get into the bizarre incident involving Greco and the reporter that I was referring to, Katie Honan. [00:02:12] So on Wednesday, City Hall reporter Katie Honan spotted Greco near the announcement of the opening of Adams's newest campaign office in Harlem. Greco later texted Honan after the event when she spotted her again and asked her [00:02:28] to meet across the street from the campaign office next to a TD bank. Now, several people associated with Adams are expected to face corruption charges in coming days, according to four people with knowledge of the matter. And you know, it has to do with the corruption cases. [00:02:46] And it's not just about Eric Adams. People surrounding him, people who have worked for him, are involved in this investigation. So Honan thought the reporter thought that she was actually going to get some, like, hot goss, you know, some juicy deets from from Greco. And that's why they were going to meet. [00:03:02] She thought they were going to discuss, the expected indictments. Greco and Honan walked to the Whole Foods next door while inside the store, Greco handed Honan an open bag of chips with the top crumbled closed, [00:03:18] which is super strange right now. Honan, thinking it was an offer of a light snack, told Greco more than once that she could not accept the chips, but Greco insisted that she keep them. At that point, the two parted ways before entering a nearby subway station. [00:03:35] Honan opened the bag and discovered a red envelope inside stuffed with cash. At least one $100 bill and several $20 bills. Okay. Bananas. Okay, so there's more to this. [00:03:53] The New York Times reports that the city, which is the publication that Honan writes for, promptly reported the incident to the city's Department of Investigation and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn contacted the newspaper's lawyers. So they did the right thing. And, guys, I would be shocked if anyone knows this. [00:04:09] Why would you know this? But journalists are not supposed to accept any gifts, even something as simple as a bag of chips. Or if you're interviewing someone and they offer to pay for your meal. If you're meeting them for breakfast for the interview, it goes against journalistic ethics. So like, I'm very impressed with the city, the publication here [00:04:26] and hone in for how legit they are. You know, how how ethical they are in the work that they do. So big props to them. Now, in addition to that, Honan repeatedly tried to meet back up with Greco in order to return the money. Okay, but Greco stopped responding to her texts, [00:04:43] and in an interview later Wednesday, the city asked Greco what her intention was in handing money to the reporter. In response, she said she'd, you know, made a mistake and apologized over and over. She said, I make a mistake. I'm so sorry. [00:04:58] It's a culture thing. I don't know, I don't understand. I'm so sorry I feel so bad right now. I'm so sorry, honey. She. She then called the city back, advising that we call her attorney, Steven Brill, and adding, can we just forget about this? [00:05:15] I try to be a good person. Please, please, please don't do in the news. Nothing about me. I just wanted to be her friend. I just wanted to have one good friend. It's nothing. And what did the lawyer have to say? You know Steven Brill. [00:05:31] I can see how this looks strange, but I assure you. Thank you. I appreciate that, but I assure you that Winnie's intent was purely innocent. In the Chinese culture, money is often given to others in a gesture of friendship and gratitude. Winnie is apologetic and embarrassed by any negative impression [00:05:48] or confusion this may have caused. I guess I need to find more Chinese friends. Yeah, well, there's actually some truth to that, so. Okay, so let me tell you how the red envelope tradition actually works. And then that's. And then you'll see this even funnier. [00:06:04] So at different holidays, Chinese New Year, Moon Festival, etc., you might do a red envelope or a wedding. And so you put money in the red envelope, and then you go through a little bit of a tiny bit of like ceremonial thing where you say something to the person you're giving it to and you're actually supposed to hold it [00:06:21] with two hands and then give it to them. There's a very specific little ritual around it, right? What you don't do is put it inside a potato chip bag, roll it up and give it to a reporter. That is not part of any tradition. And if it really was true, I mean, if you were a true stickler for tradition. [00:06:40] You can't. You have to give it with both hands. So you can't do it when giving it in a potato chip bag. But are we really having this conversation? Come on, who would be dumb enough to believe this? What I'm wondering is, how often does this happen? [00:06:55] - But the briber gets away with it. - Yeah. So. Because look. And now here's the other context that's obviously relevant here. As Anna told you a little while ago, her homes were raided by the FBI on a different corruption case. So when you're known for corruption and the FBI has already raided your home, [00:07:15] I don't think that's the time to do the red envelope tradition. Stuffed in a potato chip bag and given to a reporter. Okay. Come on. Come on, man. - Please stop insulting our intelligence. - This is. Yeah. This story is so incredible. I mean, there's really nothing else to say about it, but, you know, this woman, [00:07:35] this Greco woman, she's got balls. I'll give her that. I mean, there's been instances where, like, we all know, right? Like, if you want to get your hotel room updated or upgraded, I should say, you know, when they ask for your credit card for incidentals, you slip them a 20. And. [00:07:53] Oh, interesting. But I never have the guts to do it. I just don't because, like. And by the way, there's there's the other thing with flight attendants where someone who has worked as a flight attendant gave me this advice, but I just can't do it because it feels too cheesy. [00:08:10] You give them chocolate as you board the plane and you get like a little bit of extra treatment, extra special treatment. But I can't do it. I can't do it. I feel like so cheesy and I'm worried that they'll get insulted. Yeah, I know guys who are really good at that. They're like, go to a bouncer. How you doing? [00:08:25] Yeah, have the money. The bouncers? Totally. I've done it with the bouncers. Yeah, sure. - Yeah yeah yeah. - Yeah. I tried it once with a bouncer and he's like, dude, what are you doing? - Well, you're a man. - Okay. All right. Anyway, so, but look, guys, this is a surprising [00:08:41] that she's working for Eric Adams. No, the cheesy guy who got, like, the worst bribes in the world from, like, the Turks who don't know what they're doing either. And they're like, okay, he got bribed, like, with an upgrade. On a flight. On a flight to Turkey, like, bro, you could have gotten that with more miles. [00:08:59] Like, it's like the bribes are hilarious, hilarious and ridiculous and minor, which then when you look at this story go, oh, that actually makes sense in the context of Eric Adams and Winnie Greco. They're the exact kind of cheese balls that might put a red envelope [00:09:16] in a bag full of cheese balls. Yeah. Like Jackie, was it a Cheetos bag? Okay. I mean, I don't know what kind of chips they were. - I'm actually curious. - We'll have to ask. Every time you ring the bell below, an angel gets his wings. [00:09:31] Totally not true. But it does keep you updated on our live shows.