U.S. Investigating Political Action Committee Tied to Mayor Adams

Federal authorities, as part of a corruption investigation, are examining a New York City pastor and a political action committee he formed to support Mayor Eric Adams’s agenda, according to people with knowledge of the inquiry.

The criminal investigation adds to the welter of corruption inquiries involving the mayor or members of his inner circle, a level of scrutiny unprecedented in and around City Hall in recent New York City history.

The precise scope of the investigation is unclear, but federal prosecutors in Brooklyn and the F.B.I. are focused at least in part on the conduct of the pastor, the Rev. Alfred Cockfield II, and the finances of his political action committee, Striving for a Better New York, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Two weeks ago, the people said, F.B.I. agents searched the Far Rockaway home of Mr. Cockfield, who formed the committee three years ago to support Mr. Adams’s agenda.

Mr. Cockfield did not respond to requests for comment. A spokeswoman for Mr. Adams’s criminal defense lawyer also declined to comment.

Mr. Cockfield was a member of the mayor’s transition team and appeared onstage with him at his election night victory party despite having pleaded guilty in 1998 to transporting three kilograms of cocaine for a drug organization called the Poison Clan.