Feds: 3 Conn. residents charged as part of historic N.Y. corruption probe

NEW YORK — Three Connecticut residents are among 70 current and former workers at the New York City Housing Authority charged with bribery as part of an investigation of widespread corruption, federal officials say.

“The corruption we’ve alleged infected every corner of the city,” Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York, said at a news conference Tuesday. In addition to Connecticut, defendants were arrested in New York, New Jersey and North Carolina.

Federal officials identified the three Connecticut residents as Joacim Mendez, 47, of Milford; Alexis Nieves, 41, of Stratford; and Michael Davis, 54, of Groton. All three are charged with solicitation and receipt of a bribe and extortion under color of official right.

The largest public housing authority in the nation was infested by a “classic pay-to-play” culture of corruption in which workers dispensed repair jobs to contractors willing to pay bribes, Williams said. The current and former employees illegally pocketed more than $2 million, he said.

The roundup was the largest single-day bribery takedown in the history of the U.S. Justice Department, Williams said.

The corruption, which took place over at least the last decade, was so widespread it affected nearly one-third of the 335 housing developments citywide where 1 in 17 New Yorkers lived.

Williams said housing superintendents, assistant superintendents and other employees demanded more than $2 million in bribe money from contractors in exchange for more than $13 million in work, which usually involved small but essential jobs such as plumbing or window repairs that did not require competitive bidding.

“If the contractors didn’t pay up, the defendants wouldn’t give them the work,” Williams said. “That’s classic pay-toplay, and this culture of corruption at NYCHA ends today.”

Mendez, who worked as superintendent at four different housing authority complexes from January 2015 to March 2020, accepted about $36,500 in bribes, according to the complaint. The complexes included Harlem River Consolidate, or Harlem River Houses; Wald Houses, at the other end of Manhattan; Rangel Houses in Harlem; and Bronx River Houses in the Bronx.

The complaint stated that a contractor referred to as cooperating witness 1, or CW-1, told investigators he was awarded about 14 no-bid contracts at Wald Houses from October 2016 to June 2017, and that he paid Mendez about $500 in cash for two or three of them. Each nobid contract was worth about $5,000.

He paid Mendez the same amount for 10-12 nobid contracts at Rangel Houses, the complaint said, and for eight no-bid contracts at Bronx River Houses.

The contractor understood that he had to make the payments if he wanted the work, it said.

“For instance, CW-1 recalled a conversation with Mendez at Wald Houses in or about 2016 or 2017 during which Mendez informed CW-1 ... that if CW-1 wanted additional contracting work, CW-1 would have to ‘take care’ of Mendez and that Mendez could use other contractors,” the complaint said.

The contractor identified Mendez by his picture in a photo book, it said.

Another contractor also paid a $500 bribe for each of 13 jobs at Wald Houses, 31 at Rangel Houses and six at Bronx River Houses, the complaint said.

Nieves was employed as a superintendent at Garvey-Prospect Plaza, a jointly-managed housing authority consolidation made up of Marcus Garvey Apartments and Prospect Plaza in Brooklyn, according to the complaint.

Another contractor, called CW-2, told authorities that between February 2019 and December 2020 he did work on about a dozen no-bid contracts at Marcus Garvey Apartments, the complaint said.

“During that time, CW-2 paid Nieves approximately $400 to $500 in cash for each of approximately three to five no-bid contracts,” it said.

He understood that, based on his interactions with Nieves and other employees, if he didn’t make a payment, “Nieves would make it difficult” for him to receive additional nobid contracts or receive payment for jobs he already completed, according to the complaint.

That contractor also picked out Nieves’ picture from a book, saying he knew him as “Alex,” it said.

A contractor referred to as CW-13 told investigators he got about seven nobid contracts at Marcus Garvey Apartments from February through April 2021, the complaint said.

“During that time, CW-13 paid Nieves approximately 10% of the value of the contract,” it said, which worked out to about $500 per contract.

According to the complaint, Davis worked as an assistant superintendent at Saint Nicholas Houses, a housing authority development in Harlem. In May 2022, Davis accepted $1,500-2,000 in cash for a $10,000 no-bid contract, the complaint states.

A contractor referred to as CW-6 told investigators that, “based on his interactions with Davis and with other NYCHA employees who similarly required payments for work, that if CW-6 did not make the payment to Davis, Davis would not approve the work CW-6 had completed, which was necessary for CW-6 to receive payment from NYCHA for the completed contract,” the complaint said.

A second contractor said he, too, was extorted by Davis. He paid about $1,000, the complaint said.

Davis allegedy walked up to him once at a work site and said, “I need you to take care of me,” he said. Davis also pointed out that he gave the contractor the job and implied that he would not give him any more if he didn’t pay up.

Both contractors picked out Davis’ picture from a photo book, the complaint stated.

The city’s public housing authority receives more than $1.5 billion in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development each year.

In charging documents, authorities said the defendants typically demanded the payment of bribes valued at between 10 percent and 20 percent of jobs that sometimes cost as little as $500 to $2,000.

Some defendants, authorities said, demanded even greater amounts of money in return for using their discretion to favor one contractor over another.

Bart Schwartz, a courtappointed monitor who has served as a watchdog over the housing authority for the past five years, in a statement called the arrests a “step in the right direction” so that employees and vendors know they cannot continue taking advantage of residents.

“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.” Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York