New York — The 70th and final conviction in New York City’s sweeping corruption investigation was secured Tuesday, ending a decade-long bribery scheme in which public housing employees funneled work to contractors in exchange for bribes.
Prosecutors said the February 2024 arrests were the largest single-day bribery takedown in the history of the U.S. Department of Justice, targeting current and former New York City Housing Authority employees, many of them former supervisors.
“All 70 defendants charged have now been convicted for attempting to criminally exploit the labor contracting process to provide affordable housing to New Yorkers to line their own pockets,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement.
The defendants generally demanded between 10% and 20% of the contract value, which typically ranged between $500 and $2,000, according to the release.
Commissioner Jocelyn E. said: Strober of the city’s Department of Investigation said Housing Authority employees received more than $2.1 million in bribes paid by companies that received $15 million in no-bid contracts.
The city’s massive and aging public housing system is the largest in the country, housing one in 17 New Yorkers in 335 projects citywide. Tenants have complained for decades about dangerous or unsanitary conditions, including rodents, mold, and outages of heat and hot water.
Of the 70 people charged in the bribery case, three defendants were convicted at trial, 56 pleaded guilty to felony charges, and 11 pleaded guilty to misdemeanor crimes, prosecutors said. The charges included bribery, fraud and extortion.
The housing authority known as NYCHA receives more than $1.5 billion in federal funding each year.