By Aaron Katersky
As many as 70 current and former New York City public housing employees were charged Tuesday with accepting kickbacks 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,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in announcing the arrests in six states and all five boroughs.
Superintendents and assistant superintendents at about 100 New York City public housing buildings collectively took $2 million in kickbacks from contractors in exchange for being awarded small jobs under $10,000 that did not require a bid.
“This was classic pay to play,” Williams said. “This conduct became a regular practice.”
The alleged conduct started in 2013 and ran until 2023, prosecutors said. Contractors who failed to pay a kickback were cut out of work.
All 70 NYCHA employees charged were suspended as of Tuesday. Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations arrested 65 defendants in six states and all five boroughs.
Read more at: ABC News