NYCHA Scandal Update: First Trial Results in Guilty Verdict for Former Superintendent

NEW YORK (MJP) – 

In the first trial following a 70-person takedown of current and former New York City Housing Authority employees in February, Joy Harris, a former superintendent, was convicted of bribery and extortion on Friday for accepting cash from contractors in exchange for awarding contracts.

Harris, 49, of Bushkill, Pennsylvania, was convicted for soliciting and accepting tens of thousands of dollars from contractors in exchange for awarding those contractors no-bid contracts at NYCHA developments.

“Corruption is an insidious crime—difficult to detect, corrosive in its effect on government agencies, and damaging to public trust in government institutions,” Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said.

NYCHA receives over $1.5 billion annually in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and uses outside contractors for repairs or construction work, which typically go through a bidding process.

However, when a contract’s value is below a certain threshold, designated staff at NYCHA developments, including assistant superintendents and superintendents, can hire a contractor of their choosing without soliciting multiple bids.

According to court documents, Harris, who served as both an assistant superintendent and superintendent at four different NYCHA locations between 2015 and 2022, accepted cash bribes in exchange for awarding contracts.

Harris would either demand bribes upfront to secure contracts or insist on payments after the work was completed, withholding her approval—required for the contractor to be paid by NYCHA—until the bribe was paid.

She typically demanded 10% of the contract’s value, ranging between $500 and $1,000 per job. Over time, Harris accepted tens of thousands of dollars in bribes for awarding contracts worth hundreds of thousands, according to prosecutors.

Harris was convicted of federal program bribery, which carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison, and extortion under color of official right, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison.

Dozens of New York City public housing employees were arrested in February in a sweeping federal corruption investigation that the Department of Justice called the “largest” single-day bribery roundup in its history.

U.S. Department – https://www.usa.gov/agencies/u-s-department-of-housing-and-urban-development

Prosecutors stated that superintendents and assistant superintendents who held “great power” over no-bid contracts—that is, contracts that didn’t need to go through a competitive bidding process—operated “similarly to an organized crime network” to get “lucrative under the table deals.”

Williams had said the illicit scheme “became a regular practice that dozens of NYCHA employees engaged in.”

A map provided by the DOJ shows the developments (in red) where NYCHA staffers allegedly accepted bribes.

A map provided by the DOJ shows the developments (in red) where NYCHA staffers allegedly accepted bribes. Prosecutors said they made up nearly a third of developments citywide. Photo credit US Department of Justice

Of the 70 current and former NYCHA employees charged with bribery and extortion offenses, 55 of the defendants have now pled guilty or been convicted at trial. The charges against the remaining defendants are pending.

The one-year investigation involved the Department of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations. Nearly 700 law enforcement agents took part in the arrests, which spanned six states and all five boroughs of the city.

“Joy Harris’s years-long abuse of her position to demand tens of thousands of dollars in bribes betrayed her duty to NYCHA residents, the City of New York, and taxpayers,” Damien said. “The jury’s unanimous verdict sends a clear message that those who use their public offices for personal gain will be held accountable.”