An advisor for New York City Democratic Mayor Eric Adams was caught trying to bribe a reporter, only to explain the whole fiasco away as a cultural gesture.
Winnie Greco, who was a former advisor on Asian affairs and campaign advisor for Adams, tried to hand a reporter at The City, Katie Honan, a chip bag outside a campaign office in Harlem, New York, which was later discovered to contain at least one $100 bill and several $20 bills, according to the New York Post.
Greco tried giving Honan a bag of Herr’s sour cream and onion rippled potato chips, but the reporter repeatedly refused, thinking she was being offered a snack.
Honan eventually was forced to take the bag, only to open it and discover money rather than food in what The City is now calling a “failed payoff.”
Greco commented to The City, trying to explain away the bribe as an accident. “I make a mistake,” she said.
“I’m so sorry. It’s a culture thing. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t understand. I’m so sorry. I feel so bad right now. I’m so sorry, honey,” Greco told the outlet. “Can we forget about this? I try to be a good person. Please. Please. Please don’t do in the news nothing about me.”
Her excuses were laughable and absolutely pathetic, considering she handed a reporter money while working on a political re-election campaign.
“I just wanted to be her friend,” Greco tried to say. “I just wanted to have one good friend. It’s nothing.”
Attorney Steven Brill tried to explain away the incident as a part of Greco’s Chinese background, saying, “I can see how this looks strange.”
Was this just a cultural misunderstanding?
“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.”
The Adams campaign suspended Greco and The City handed over information about the incident to the Department of Investigation.
Chinese American journalist Melissa Chan posted a link to The City’s article on the incident, calling Greco “a danger to the Asian American community.”
“Trying to pass envelopes of cash to reporters is typical in China but for her to excuse it as ‘culture’ rather than the corrupt authoritarian CCP system smears us all,” she wrote.
People like Winnie Greco (née Zheng) are such a danger to the Asian American community. Trying to pass envelopes of cash to reporters is typical in China but for her to excuse it as “culture” rather than the corrupt authoritarian CCP system smears us all. https://t.co/PpddTuAK7J
— Melissa Chan (@melissakchan) August 21, 2025
A cynical person might ask, “When will white people learn to accept other cultural traditions and happily ignore the passing of cash from political operators to the media, just like the highly ethical Chinese Communists have been doing for decades?”
Surely, we don’t want to be bigoted and reject this rich hallmark of Chinese culture.
Jokes aside, Greco’s excuse is completely lame.
It shows just how far a culture of tolerance and acceptance has taken us in the wrong direction.
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