Misunderstood Chinese Culture, or Cheesy NYC Bribery Attempt?
By Romen Basu Borsellino | 21 Aug, 2025

There’s just no good way to spin a campaign adviser for New York Mayor Eric Adams giving a reporter a bag of sour-cream-and-onion flavored potato chips containing cash in a few small bills.

On Wednesday, Winnie Greco, an adviser for the re-election campaign of New York Mayor Eric Adams — who was indicted on bribery charges last year — was herself accused of attempted bribery. 

Politics is a dirty game.  Sadly, we can’t be too surprised that someone would stoop so low as, in this case, handing a reporter an open bag of potato chips with a wad of cash hidden inside .

What we can be surprised by is Greco’s excuse for her action: being Asian. 

Does the explanation hold muster? 

Photo by The City's Ben Fractenberg shows the cash filled potato chip bag that Winnie Greco gave to reporter Katie Honan

The Facts of the Case

Winnie Greco, a Chinese American, served as Mayor Adams’ Director of Asian Affairs until resigning last year in connection with a federal investigation of Adams and his staff. 

She has since been involved with the Mayor’s re-election efforts as a volunteer, according to his campaign.

On Wednesday, per New York publication The City, Greco texted their reporter Katie Honan asking to meet.  When they both arrived at the Whole Foods across the street from the new Adams campaign office, Greco handed Honan an open bag of Herr’s brand sour cream and onion chips, despite the reporter’s insistence that she wasn’t hungry. 

Photo by the AP depicts Mayor Adams and adviser Winnie greco

Only after they both departed did Honan look inside the bag to find that this was not merely the offering of a snack like Greco had claimed.  It contained a red envelope with Chinese characters on it — the kind typically used to exchange cash gifts during Lunar New Year — and held “at least one $100 bill and several $20 bills.”

As any reporter with even the slightest bit of integrity would do, Honan called Greco to let her know that she would not be accepting the money and needed to return it immediately.

The Excuse

Recent scandals have given us no shortage of hilarious made up excuses by the alleged perpetrators.

Like in 2012 when the Italian captain of the sinking Costa Concordia cruise ship claimed that he hadn’t intentionally fled the scene, but simply tripped and fell into a life boat.

Or in 2011 when Congressman Anthony Weiner claimed to be the victim of a hacking scheme that caused him to post an online photo of a body part that could best be described by using his own last name. 

Winnie Greco actions may make her the latest entrant into the club. 

“It’s a culture thing. I don’t know. I don’t understand,” Greco would explain to the paper when asked about the incident later that day. 

In a follow up call shortly after that, she offered even more specificity about the alleged “cultural” mixup.

“I just wanted to be her friend.  I just wanted to have one good friend.  It’s nothing” said Greco about Honan. 

And, finally, when Greco directed the paper to speak to her lawyer Steven Brill, Brill doubled down on the excuse:

“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.”

Friendship

I will start by acknowledging the possibility that I have simply made the wrong Chinese friends.  Not once has Amy or Julius or Helen ever handed me an envelope full of cash out of the blue.

If Greco is telling the truth that in Chinese culture, hundred dollar bills are handed out to friends, I must admit that my feelings are a little hurt.

So I asked some of these friends if there’s any merit to Greco’s claims.  I was assured that they have never heard of a uniquely Chinese tradition of giving money out to casual acquaintances, especially outside of a special occasion like Lunar New Year or a birthday.

So I moved on to my next question: Was the bribery itself born out of any sort of Asian tradition?

The Amount

Please allow me to be  perfectly clear: Bribery is wrong. I denounce it in all of its forms. Period.

But…if you are going to do it, you might as well do it right. 

Just look at the amount that Greco tried to bribe Honan with: under $200 total, as far as we know. 

It just doesn’t make sense.  We Asian Americans have more buying power than any other ethnicity in the United States. 

Studies have also shown that we have a particular affinity for name brands like Cadillac and Remy Martin, which is to say that we are willing to spend money on nice things.

So why would we penny pinch when it comes to bribery?

Think about the fact that Asians spend more money than any other demographic on standardized test prep.  About 65% of high school-aged students are enrolled in SAT or ACT classes because the community understands that it’s a necessary investment for getting into a good school.

Shouldn’t the same community that views Harvard admission as a worthwhile investment also see the financial value of winning the race to lead the most populous city in the US?

A $200 bribe might be fitting for Mayor of Scranton or Sioux Falls, but given both the importance of this position and the cost of living in New York, a community as financially savvy as ours would likely value such a bribe at no less than four figures. 

And don't even bother trying to tell me she miscalculated. 

The Flavor

The bribe was handed over in a bag of sour cream and onion flavored-chips. Don’t put that on us.

Yes, we Asians are normal people who enjoy the same types of snacks as everyone else. But I still struggle to believe that sour cream and onion would be our first choice.

Our cuisine is, after all, known for its spicing and intense umami flavors. 

It’s for that reason that I typically opt for flavors with more of a kick to them like salt and vinegar, barbecue, or when available, the Canadian delicacy that is ketchup chips.

It is true that many of the most popular Asian flavors are not as easily available in the US — like Lay’s fried squid, spicy hot pot and magic masala — but the prevalence of Asian grocery stores has narrowed that gap.  Are shrimp chips really that hard to find?

Sure, a more generous reading of Greco’s flavor choice might be that she chose the option she thought the reporter, a White woman, would most enjoy. 

But if so, I wish she would cop to that rather than lead people to think that it’s an Asian American thing. 

The Election

Let’s be honest:  Eric Adams is unlikely to win November's NYC Mayoral race.  The latest poll, released on Wednesday found his current support at just 8.8%. Frontrunner Zohran Mamdani is at 41.8%.

What's more: Adams, who declared his candidacy as an Independent after it became clear that he had little chance at winning the Democratic primary, holds a net favorability rating of -41.6%.

To have even the slightest chance at winning, Eric Adams needs the support of the Asian American community. 

But New York’s AAPI voters are, by and large, backing Mandani.  In June’s Democratic primary Mandani carried their vote by 42 points over runner-up Andrew Cuomo.

Given that a majority of Asian American voters are Democrats, it is likely that they will support the Democratic nominee in the general election.

What is unlikely to sway Asian Americans towards Adams is an attempt by a member of his campaign to blame a bag of blandly seasoned corruption on the AAPI community.

In other words, both Greco and the Adams campaign may have just learned the hard way that bribery isn’t how you make friends.