NYC migrant shelter corruption arrests is just the tip of the iceberg

A new federal indictment charges an ex-NYPD sergeant and three others with corruption in connection with a probe of migrant-shelter contracts.

But the alleged bribery and kickback scheme is just the tip of an iceberg in a city where corruption has become endemic, thanks to the abuse of eternal “emergency” contracts, particularly for homeless shelters.

Fact is, where there’s limited scrutiny, crooks and grifters will always look to take advantage.

This particular quartet of a nonprofit executives and subcontractors allegedly raked in $1.3 million in kickbacks and bribes linked to BHRAGS Home Care — a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that received more than $185 million in shelter contracts with the city.

The probe is also looking at other possible co-conspirators, including Brooklyn Democratic Party insiders such as Edu Hermelyn, the husband of party boss Assemblywoman Rodneyese Bichotte Hermelyn, and City Council Member Farah Louis and her sister, Hochul aide Debbie Esther Louis.

The stink should draw renewed attention to the use of no-bid emergency contracts hastily approved during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the 2023 migrant crisis.  

These emergency contracts allowed millions in public dollars to head out the door — with little to no scrutiny.

In January, Council Speaker Julie Menin introduced legislation cracking down on the city’s oft-abused emergency contract system.

In a Post op-ed last summer, Menin charged that under Mayors Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams the city “kept on ‘crisis buying’ for more than a year, without ever comparing prices or rooting out contractor abuse, fraud and waste.”

During the pandemic, de Blasio suspended competitive bidding more than 100 times, allowing his administration to enter into almost 1,400 contracts totaling nearly $7 billion without the required scrutiny.

The Adams administration awarded a $432 million no-bid shelter contract to DocGo only to discover that it billed the city for unused hotel rooms and uneaten meals for migrants and hired unlicensed security guards. 

Team Adams also kicked a $54 million no-bid contract to a sketchy NJ-based start-up to provide migrants with prepaid debit cards. 

Left unchecked and devoid of guardrails, emergency spending lends itself to widespread waste, fraud and abuse.

The City Council’s reforms would limit emergency contracts to 30-days; require subcontractors to provide detailed information, with fines as much as $100,000 for noncompliance; and create a public database of city procurements.

The council would be wise to strike while the iron is hot and pass Menin’s sensible reforms. 

Meanwhile, prosecutors should leave no stone unturned in securing justice for taxpayers and punishing those who’ve betrayed the public trust.