Feds make dozens of bribery arrests related to New York City public housing contracts

NEW YORK – Dozens of New York City Housing Authority workers are accused of corruption for allegedly taking millions of dollars in exchange for work contracts. 

Seventy current or former NYCHA  employees are now facing charges.

Prosecutors say superintendents or assistant superintendents demanded bribes from contractors for repairs or construction work on NYCHA properties, and if they didn’t pay up, they’d award the work to someone else.

The bribes – more than $2 million in total – allegedly took place at nearly a third of all NYCHA buildings across all five boroughs of New York City. 

“As we allege, the 70 defendants charged today allegedly demanded over $2 million in bribe money from contractors in exchange for giving out over $13 million of work on NYCHA buildings. And if the contractors didn’t pay up, the defendants wouldn’t give them the work. That’s classic pay-to-play, and this culture of corruption at NYCHA ends today,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “The corruption we’ve alleged infected every corner of the city. As the charges show, superintendents accepting and extorting bribes from contractors had become business as usual, occurring at almost 100 NYCHA buildings across all five boroughs. That’s nearly a third of all NYCHA buildings.” 

Williams said this is the largest single day bribery takedown in the history of the U.S. Justice Department.

NYCHA – the largest public housing authority in the nation – receives more than $1.5 billion a year from the federal government. One in 17 New Yorkers lives in a NYCHA building. 

Williams said the contracts, under $10,000 each, involved essential work like plumbing and window repairs. They were no-bid contracts, where superintendents and assistant superintendents could hire the workers directly. They then wouldn’t sign off on payment to the contractors without a kickback, the feds say. 

All of the charged NYCHA employees are being suspended, effective immediately, Williams said.   

“NYCHA has ZERO tolerance for wrongful and illegal activity,” said NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “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. In the past five years, NYCHA has achieved many significant milestones, while remaining vigilant to ensure integrity in every area of our work. We have already made transformative changes to our business practices and will continue to do so. We will not allow bad actors to disrupt or undermine our achievements.”