As many as 70 current and former New York City public housing officials were accused on Tuesday of receiving payments from contractors in exchange for awarding city contracts, federal prosecutors in New York said.
“We were trying to send a message with a 70-person takedown,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, who announced the arrests in six states and five boroughs.
Superintendents and assistant superintendents from around 100 New York City public housing buildings received $2 million in payments from contractors in exchange for being given modest works under $10,000 that did not require a bid.
“This was classic pay-to-play,” Williams explained. “This conduct became a regular practice.”
The accusations against New York City Housing Authority workers are the biggest number of federal bribery allegations filed on a single day in the Department of Justice’s history.
Prosecutors claimed the alleged wrongdoing began in 2013 and continued until 2023. Contractors who did not pay a kickback were terminated.
All 70 NYCHA employees indicted had been suspended as of Tuesday. Homeland Security Investigations investigators detained 65 defendants across six states and five boroughs.
The city’s Department of Investigation stated that the suspected fraud increased the cost of minor repairs, diverted funds, and damaged public housing residents’ faith.
“The bribery and extortion that was charged here allegedly exploited the no-bid process for goods and services under $10,000,” DOI Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber stated.
The inquiry is being conducted by the city’s Department of Inquiry, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office.