Opinion: Oh, brother!

"You can choose your friends, but you sure can’t choose your family, and they’re still kin to you no matter whether you acknowledge them or not, and it makes you look silly when you don’t."

– Harper Lee, “To Kill a Mockingbird"

For boomers, the term “Billygate” – the Libyan government’s influence-buying of President Jimmy Carter’s brother, Billy Carter, in the late 1970s – still echoes half a century later.

For Gen-Xers, Roger Clinton Jr. was the embarrassing brother of President Bill Clinton. Roger was so scandal-scarred that he was dubbed “Headache” by the Secret Service because of his litany of legal dust-ups – from DUIs to a cocaine trafficking conviction.

And now in New York, in the zillennial era, we have a pair of brothers – James Caban and Terence Banks – who are wreaking havoc on the Adams administration. Their alleged actions rocked the city last week when a team of FBI agents raided top administration members’ homes one sunny morning at 5 a.m.

First, we have James Caban, twin brother of NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban (who as of this writing is dangling by a thread).

James is a former cop with a checkered history – he was cited twice for excessive force and eventually booted from the force for threatening a cab driver whom he incorrectly thought stole his wife’s purse. He went on to an undistinguished career as a slumlord in the Bronx and was thrown in jail for 30 days for failure to make hundreds of repairs to his run down 12-unit building.

Now, James is at the center of a Serpico-like “fixer” scandal in the NYPD. Federal prosecutors are reportedly investigating whether James is working with “dirty cops” to shake down high-end restaurants and nightclubs facing fines for multiple violations. Allegedly, James is helping make those violations disappear. For a fee, of course. How 1970s.

Then there’s Terence Banks, brother of Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks and Schools Chancellor David Banks. He is running a consulting firm that has an impressive roster of clients with business before city agencies – including the NYPD and the Department of Education, both run by his brothers. And he’s not even registered as a lobbyist.

The name of Terence Banks’ firm, The Pearl Alliance, just happens to be the name of the street where his brother Phil (and the mayor) have offices. As Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, Phil is heading up the city’s uniformed services. Who reports to Phil Banks? None other than Edward Caban, the embattled NYPD Commissioner.

I was an early fan of Mayor Eric Adams back when he was Brooklyn borough president. I think deep down, he’s a committed public servant who really wants to improve the city.

I am also a big fan of Schools Chancellor David Banks, who I think is doing revolutionary work by dismantling a three-decade-old failed reading curriculum and replacing it with a teaching method that will pay huge dividends for our children in the next decade. His bold moves will transform lives and sharply increase reading levels.

But the mayor has been getting into hot water way too frequently because of his sloppy management skills. He makes many dubious hires of unskilled cronies – like embattled former Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich, who is now on trial for various ethical indiscretions.

The mayor has also allowed at least the appearance of impropriety to engulf his administration by allowing James Caban and Terence Banks to appear to cash in on their powerful relatives under his watch.

We have a mayoral primary in less than 10 months. Right now, many people in political circles are starting to doubt the mayor’s chances of reelection, which would make him the first one-term mayor since David Dinkins in 1993.

But there’s still time for Adams to clean house and show he means business as the top executive in city government. Great leaders learn from their mistakes and move quickly to fix burgeoning crises. Loyalty to unethical cronies and old friends only turns off voters and leads to short political careers.

Late in the Koch administration, legendary journalists Jack Newfield and Wayne Barrett wrote a searing book called “City for Sale.” The events of last week echo that period’s ethical shenanigans, which contributed to Koch’s eventual demise (and the rise of Dinkins).

City Hall and the NYPD should never be for sale. Adams has to show that he’s not willing to allow corruption to flourish in and around his administration. 

It’s time to stop the “Brother Smash and Grab Act” plaguing the NYPD and other city agencies. Adams should move quickly and force James Caban and Terence Banks out of the orbit of his administration.

The time for the mayor to act is now, not after law enforcement issues multiple indictments.