Waste of the Day: NYC Paying Contractors Who Bribed Officials

Topline: Confessing to a decade of bribery is apparently not a disqualifying factor for doing business with the City of New York. Eight companies that publicly admitted to paying off local officials have received $7.8 million worth of city contracts since the conspiracy was uncovered in February 2024, according to nonprofit newsroom The City.

New York City Housing Authority had 70 bribery charges, the most filed in one day

Key facts: Last year the U.S. Department of Justice charged 70 New York City Housing Authority officials with accepting cash payments in exchange for city contracts. It was the highest number of bribery charges the DOJ had ever filed in a single day, and 64 of the officials have since been convicted.

As part of the investigation, eight contractors testified under oath that they had given cash bribes of $500 to $2,000 to dozens of city employees. The contractors were granted immunity and were never charged with a crime.

The eight companies have grossed $70 million since they began doing business with New York, according to The City.

Harjeet Singh, the CEO of MetroCity Renovations, testified that he had bribed at least “20 to 25” officials for years to get thousands of city contracts. “There could be more than that, but I don’t remember the exact number,” he said. 

Singh’s company collected more than $29 million in NYCHA contracts since 2013 — including $3.2 million approved since the February 2024 takedown, The City reported.

Suraj Construction, and its owner Suraj Parkash, took home more than $14 million in NYCHA contracts, including $1.1 million since the takedown, the news outlet reported.

Parkash admitted in court that when the city vetted his business, he opened three other companies in his relatives’ names and kept getting city contracts.

Highly paid officials

Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com. 

Background: The officials running the Housing Authority are some of the highest paid in New York City. CEO Lisa Bova-Hiatt made $403,462 last year. COO Eva Trimble made $295,000. Executive Vice President Patti Bayross earned $270,701.

Summary: Everyone knows that if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. But success should be based on merit, not bribery.

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This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.