Over 70 New York City Housing Authority employees were handcuffed and taken away as part of a large-scale raid Tuesday morning, according to the New York Post.
The defendants are suspected of collecting cash payments from contractors in return for lucrative contracts with the New York City Housing Authority.
The Post was informed by sources that the costs could be related to contracts for minor repairs and other work at municipal housing complexes, known as “micro-purchase” projects. Local development managers have the authority to compensate individuals without putting them through the public bidding process if city contracts are valued less than $10,000, according to sources.
“Today’s charges constitute the largest number of federal bribery charges on a single day in Department of Justice history,” the SDNY said in a statement.
The raid was carried out by the city Department of Investigation, Homeland Security and the office of the Inspector General for Housing and Urban Development.
Authorities said that a news briefing on the charges will take place at 11 a.m.
