February 8, 2024

70 New York City Housing Authority Employees Charged In Largest Single-Day Bribery Takedown In DOJ History

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said, “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."

The Department of Justice has charged 70 New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) current and former employees in what the department says is the largest number of federal bribery charges for one day in its history.

The employees are accused of demanding and receiving money from contractors in exchange for obtaining contracts from the agency to receive the job and the payment from NYCHA. In some cases, money was required the issuing of contracts. In other instances, the money was to be paid after the job was completed but before an employee signed off on it so the agency would pay the contractors.

The allegations stated that the defendants typically got approximately 10% to 20% of the contract’s worth, which could be between $500 and $2,000; sometimes higher amounts were demanded. According to the DOJ, the accused made off with over $2 million in payments from the contractors, who awarded over $13 million worth of no-bid contracts.

“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,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said in a statement. “NYCHA residents deserve better. Myoffice 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.”

Sixty-six of the 70 defendants were arrested on Tuesday, Feb. 6, in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and North Carolina.

The maximum potential sentences vary from five to 20 years, and that determination will be made by a federal judge. Most of the defendants were charged with Solicitation and Receipt of a Bribe and Extortion Under Color of Official Right.