Herr’s chips are at the center of an NYC bribery scandal

It was the green-and-white potato chip bag seen nationwide.

A close adviser to New York Mayor Eric Adams was suspended from the incumbent’s reelection campaign after handing a journalist a potato chip bag stuffed with cash. Now the snack company is weighing in.

Nonprofit New York City news outlet The City reported Wednesday evening that Winnie Greco handed the paper’s City Hall reporter more than $100 disguised within the snack. The evidence at hand was a personal-size green-and-white Herr’s potato chip bag — the sour cream and onion ripple variety.

The City reported what happened to the New York Department of Investigation. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn began investigating and working with The City’s lawyers.

Quickly, the quirky scandal made headlines — inciting memes and queries about the best snacks for bribery.

And it wasn’t lost on Pennsylvanians that the bribery snack of choice was none other than Herr’s potato chips — based out of Nottingham in Chester County.

» READ MORE: A factory tour of Herr's, Philly's snack powerhouse

The Inquirer reached out to Herr’s for comment about Greco’s chip selection.

“We were surprised to see Herr’s chips mentioned in recent reports,” said Bob Clark, Herr Foods’ vice president of marketing. “While we can’t speak to the details of the story, we can confirm that our Sour Cream & Onion flavor is money.”

Here’s what else you need to know about Herr’s chips and the Adams news.

Greco is a former City Hall aide and longtime adviser to Adams. She served in the mayor’s administration as the director of Asian affairs.

Fundraising events she organized are part of an ongoing straw-donor investigation by the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s Office.

According to The City, Greco saw Katie Honan, a reporter for the news outlet, at a campaign event in Harlem and asked her to meet.

The two chatted at a nearby Whole Foods store, where Greco handed Honan the open bag of Herr’s chips. Honan turned down the offering, assuming Greco was sharing her food. But the Adams aide insisted and left Honan with the bag.

Later, she discovered a red envelope inside the chip bag, stuffed with “at least one $100 bill and several $20 bills.”

Honan attempted to return the money to Greco and reported the incident to her editors, who called the Department of Investigation.

Greco, who is Chinese, called the interaction a “mistake” and insisted it was a cultural gesture. She pleaded with The City to forget it happened and not to write about it.

Her attorney, Steve Brill, told the New York Times that Greco’s intent was “purely innocent.”

Adams campaign spokesperson Todd Shapiro told The City that the mayor’s office was unaware of Greco’s actions.

“We are shocked by these reports,” he said. “Winnie Greco holds no position in this campaign and has been suspended from all volunteer campaign-related activities.”

The New York Times said its reporters had witnessed other Adams supporters handing out red envelopes containing cash to Chinese-language news organizations in the past.

Steven Tin, the director of Better Chinatown USA, told the Times that the payments are a common practice in Chinese culture to thank media outlets for attending events.

He said the practice was considered a “courtesy” and was not to ensure coverage. Journalists are not allowed to accept bribes because doing so compromises their journalistic objectivity and ethics. Tin told the Times this week that he had not discussed with the Adams campaign if the cash handed out at events would be reimbursed.

When approached by the Times, Shapiro with the Adams campaign said the handouts were not a campaign directive, were unauthorized, and would not be reimbursed.