In a historic move, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicted 70 present and former employees of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) on charges related to corruption.
This marks the highest number of federal bribery indictments issued in a single day in the DOJ's history.
The DOJ, in a press release, stated that 66 of the accused were arrested on Tuesday morning across four states. The defendants are alleged to have accepted bribes from contractors in exchange for awarding them lucrative no-bid contracts.
NYCHA, the largest public housing authority in the United States, provides housing to one in every 17 New York City residents through its 335 developments. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development annually allocates over $1.5 billion in federal funding to NYCHA.
Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, in the press release, expressed his disappointment in the accused, stating, Instead of acting in the interests of NYCHA residents, the City of New York, or taxpayers, the 70 defendants charged today allegedly used their jobs at NYCHA to line their own pockets. He further emphasized the gravity of the situation, declaring it as the largest single-day bribery takedown in the history of the Justice Department.
Williams pledged his office's commitment to eradicating the corruption that has long plagued NYCHA, stating, NYCHA residents deserve better. My Office is firmly committed to cleaning up the corruption that has plagued NYCHA for far too long so that its residents can be served with integrity and have the high-quality affordable homes that they deserve. The culture of corruption at NYCHA ends today.
The press release further elaborated that the defendants were all NYCHA employees when they allegedly solicited and secured cash for contracts. Their alleged modus operandi involved demanding upfront payments from contractors to secure contracts or requiring contractors to complete the job before receiving payment from NYCHA. The usual demand was for 10-20% of the contract value, typically ranging from $500 to $2,000. Some defendants, however, allegedly demanded a higher percentage.
The DOJ alleges, In total, these defendants demanded over $2 million in corrupt payments from contractors in exchange for awarding over $13 million worth of no-bid contracts. Many of the accused could face a decade or more in prison if convicted.
NYCHA CEO Lisa Bova-Hiatt, in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation, expressed her organization's zero-tolerance policy towards illegal activities, stating, The individuals allegedly involved in these acts put their greed first and violated the trust of our residents, their fellow NYCHA colleagues and all New Yorkers. These actions are counter to everything we stand for as public servants and will not be tolerated in any form.
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