Probe finds tix fixing at DMV office

ALBANY — A Department of Motor Vehicles office in Manhattan was “mired in corrupt practices,” with clerks accepting cash and other perks to fix tickets and refer clients to attorneys, state investigators revealed Friday.

Investigators from state Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott’s office found “systemic wrongdoing” at the DMV’s Manhattan North Traffic Violations Bureau, including “woefully deficient oversight” by supervisors and lax attention to the rules.

One clerk — Sam Alexis — earned up to $600 extra per week by taking cash payments to dismiss tickets against drivers. Office clerks also received cash, free meals and other gifts from defense attorneys in exchange for steering ticketed drivers their way.

“These were routine practices at a facility where well-established policies and rules were spurned,” Leahy Scott said in a statement.

DMV officials said they were taking steps to address the issues raised in the report but declined to specify what disciplinary measures were being taken against employees.