U.S. Attorney Damian Williams announced the largest single-day bribery takedown in the history of the Department of Justice.
The alleged conduct started in 2013 and ran until 2023. The defendants have been charged with allegedly accepting cash payments from contractors in exchange for awarding NYCHA contracts.
The dozens of current and former employees of NYCHA demanded $2 million in bribe money from contractors in exchange for giving out more than $13 million in work at NYCHA buildings, officials say. Contractors who failed to pay a kickback were cut out of work, officials say.
Officials announced that superintendents accepting and extorting bribes for contractors had become business as usual, occurring in almost 100 NYCHA buildings across all five boroughs — nearly 1/3 of all NYCHA buildings.
NYCHA is the largest public housing authority in the country, receiving more than $1.5 billion in federal funding every year. It is home to 1 in 17 New Yorkers.
The 70 defendants are accused of using their jobs to line their own pockets.