A Brooklyn Council member, her sister — an aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul — and the husband of a Democratic state Assembly member are being investigated by federal prosecutors looking into whether they took bribes to help a migrant shelter provider that has received $200 million in city contracts, according to a report.
Democratic Councilwoman Farah Louis and her sister, Debbie Louis, who served as Hochul’s assistant secretary of New York City intergovernmental affairs, were named in a search warrant obtained by the Associated Press seeking evidence for possible criminal violations.
Edu Hermelyn, the husband of state Assembly Member and chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, was also named in the search warrant signed on March 19.
The warrant seeking a phone connected to the investigation said prosecutors are examining if the three prominent Brooklyn Dems received kickbacks in exchange for actions taken on behalf of BHRAGS Home Care Inc. — a Brooklyn-based home service provider turned migrant shelter provider.
BHRAGS received its first contract to run an emergency migrant shelter in 2022 during the city’s migrant crisis. The company has since been awarded more than a dozen contracts, most of which for homeless services, totaling nearly $200 million, according to city records. --->READ MORE HERE
An ex-NYPD sergeant and a trio of homeless services providers allegedly pocketed more than $1 million in kickbacks linked to city-run migrant shelters, federal prosecutors revealed Tuesday.
All four were nabbed as part of a corruption probe in the Eastern District of New York that was also linked to raids on City Councilwoman Farah Louis, her politically connected sister and the husband of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, sources said.
Former cop Edouardo St. Fort, 47, nonprofit bigs Jean Ronald Tirelus and Roberto Samedy, both 50, along with vendor Miguel Jorge, 52, were indicted on bribery and conspiracy charges.
“As alleged, the defendants used their leadership positions to loot public funds from an organization devoted to serving vulnerable New Yorkers,” said US Attorney Joseph Nocella in a statement.
The case burst into public view Monday evening when the Associated Press reported search warrants were served against Louis and her sister Debbie Louis, an aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul, in a probe into migrant shelter contracts.
The Louis sisters – as well as Edu Hermelyn, the husband of state Assembly Member and chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn – are said to be under scrutiny for potentially taking kickbacks on behalf of BHRAGS Home Care Inc., a Brooklyn-based home service provider turned migrant shelter provider. They have not been charged.
Former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration awarded scores of such contracts, often on a no-bid basis, as the city grappled with a flood of asylum seekers starting in 2022.
BHARG secured more than a dozen contracts for homeless services since 2022, totaling north of $200 million, city records show.
Tirelus and Samedy, who respectively served as BHARGS’ president and executive director, are accused of stealing $1.3 million from the company, including by convincing the board of directors to send $800,000 to a shell company, according to court documents. --->READ MORE HEREFollow link below to a relevant story:
+++++4 charged in corruption investigation linked to New York City homeless shelter operator+++++
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