New York Mayor Gerry Adams has been charged with taking bribes and illegal campaign contributions from Turkey

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have charged New York City Mayor Gerhard Adams with accepting $100,000 in illegal campaign contributions and bribes, including luxury travel, to use his position to help Turkish citizens. Adams maintained his innocence.

Adams, who faces five federal charges Thursday, including bribery, fraud and illegally soliciting foreign campaign contributions, insisted he would remain in office and called on New Yorkers to hear his plea. If convicted, Adams could face decades in prison.

Fbi agents searched Adams' mansion that morning and unsealed a 57-page indictment that cited nearly a decade of corruption. In the indictment, Manhattan federal prosecutors said Adams allegedly ran a scheme dating back to 2014, which began when he was a top elected official in Brooklyn and continued after he became mayor of New York.

Prosecutors allege the scheme provided Adams with campaign funds for his mayoral campaign, as well as free stays at luxury hotels and high-end restaurants. In return, Adams pressured city officials, including the New York Fire Department, to allow a new 36-story Turkish consulate building to open despite serious safety concerns.

The investigation focused on whether Adams had received donations from the Turkish government, received illegal foreign campaign contributions and assisted the Turkish government.

The judge in Adams' case ordered Adams to appear for arraignment at noon Friday, but Adams' attorneys asked the judge to postpone the arraignment until early next week.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said at a news conference that Adams sold his influence to a senior Turkish official and others.

He said Adams was showered with gifts he knew were illegal, "in a multi-year scheme to buy off a rising star in New York politics."

At a separate news conference outside the New York mayor's mansion, Adams denied involvement in wrongdoing and said he would not resign.

Adams, 64, is the city's second black mayor. Flanked by prominent black clergymen, he lashed out at federal prosecutors, saying they were leaking information about the investigation in order to "try this case in public."