9 contractors accused of bribing NYCHA superintendents for contracts
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Nine New York City contractors have been indicted for allegedly bribing NYCHA superintendents for "micro purchase" contracts.
"These defendants allegedly tried to seek favors from NYCHA superintendents by offering them bribes, corrupting a process meant to ensure contracts are fairly awarded," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. "I commend the employees who came forward to report the bribe offers, kicking off this investigation. My office will continue to work closely with DOI to make sure that bribery schemes and other forms of corruption are investigated and prosecuted."
For larger construction projects and repairs to be performed by an outside vendor, NYCHA generally solicits multiple bids before awarding a contract.
But for smaller repairs involving contracts up to $10,000, NYCHA implemented the micro purchase process which does not require multiple bids.
Instead, the superintendent or assistant superintendent of a housing development has the discretion to choose a vendor and request an estimate.
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The defendants were identified as:
--Lakhwinder Kumar, 47, and Kumar Construction Corp., of South Ozone Park, Queens
--Charanjit Singh, 58, Satbir Singh, 71, and Fine Touch Construction, of Floral Park, Queens
--Davinder Singh, 45, Nishan Singh, 56, Yuvi Development Inc., and NB Builders, of Hicksville, New York
--Surinder Singh, 59, Guriqbal Singh, 28, A. Peter Luger Construction, PKG Contracting Corp. and Heera and G. Builders, of South Richmond Hill, Queens
--Jaswant Banga Singh, 57, and Khushi Construction Inc., of New Hyde Park
--Bakhshish Chand, 68, and Amar Contracting, of Richmond Hill, Queens.
They are charged with bribery, giving unlawful gratuities, offering a false instrument for filing and conspiracy.
According to the investigation, in November 2018, Lakhwinder Kumar allegedly told an assistant superintendent at a NYCHA development in Brooklyn that he appreciated the jobs he received and offered him money. That employee reported the bribe offer to the Department of Investigations (DOI), which then equipped him with audio and video recording devices.
A month later, Kumar was recorded allegedly handing that assistant superintendent $450 in exchange for a micro purchase job at the development.
The following year, in July 2019, in an unrelated incident, Surinder Singh, allegedly handed $600 in cash to the superintendent of another NYCHA development in Brooklyn.
The employee tried to return the money, but Singh allegedly refused to take it.
The superintendent then reported the matter to DOI. A few weeks later, he allegedly left cash in the employee's office who again reported it to DOI, which then equipped the employee with audio and video recording devices.
Starting in Spring 2019, DOI placed undercover investigators posing as assistant superintendents at the Red Hook Houses West and Lafayette Gardens in Clinton Hill. Over a period of many months, the undercover at Red Hook allegedly recorded a number of contractors including Charanjit Singh and Satbir Singh, who are partners; Davinder Singh and Nishan Singh, who are brothers; and another contractor, Guriqbal Singh, discussing jobs at the development on numerous occasions and handing the undercover amounts of cash ranging from $500 to $1,000 in exchange for micro purchase jobs.
The undercover at Lafayette Gardens allegedly recorded Kumar, Charanjit Singh and another contractor also allegedly giving cash bribes to the undercover.
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As the investigation continued, it expanded to capture recordings of Surinder Singh allegedly paying additional bribes to a NYCHA employee at a NYCHA development in Brooklyn and Jaswant Banga Singh and Bakhshish Chand allegedly giving cash bribes to an employee at a NYCHA development in Queens.
It is alleged that between December 2018 and May 2021 the defendants paid bribes or unlawful gratuities to NYCHA employees or undercover investigators totaling about $20,000 in cash, in addition to two $500 gift cards and four bottles of Johnnie Walker scotch with a total approximate value of $115 in exchange for various jobs such as tile work, installation of tub enclosures, installation of a chain link fence, and repairing windows.
"NYCHA has zero tolerance for these illegal acts committed by staff and vendors, and worked in partnership with DOI on this investigation," NYCHA said in a statement. "We have implemented significant changes to the systems to prevent this type of malfeasance, including updates and modifications to purchasing oversight, how contracts are awarded and tracked, and post-award contract management. They are all being implemented as part of the Transformation Plan, which was mandated by the 2019 HUD Agreement, and we will continue to do the necessary work to improve."
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