Hector Colon, a 47-year-old Bronx man and former superintendent for the New York City Housing Authority (“NYCHA”), was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for soliciting and accepting approximately $30,000 in bribes from contractors in exchange for awarding repair contracts or approving repair work worth at least $400,000, federal prosecutors said on Tuesday, May 6.

 

Jay Clayton, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Colon’s sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman, who also presided over a one-week trial at which Colon was convicted of bribery and extortion under color of official right.

 

“Hector Colon abused his position at NYCHA to demand bribes from contractors for his personal gain,” Clayton said. “The women and men of this Office are committed to pursuing those who abuse the public’s trust.”

 

According to the indictment, public court filings, statements made in court, and evidence presented during trial, NYCHA is the largest public housing authority in the country, providing housing to New Yorkers across the City and receiving over $1.5 billion in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) every year.

 

When repairs or construction work at NYCHA housing require the use of outside contractors, services must typically be purchased via a bidding process. However, when the value of a contract is under a certain threshold, designated staff at NYCHA developments, including superintendents, can hire a contractor of their choosing without soliciting multiple bids. With either type of contract, a NYCHA employee needs to certify that the work is satisfactorily completed in order for the contractor to receive payment from NYCHA.

 

Prosecutors said that Colon, a superintendent at three different NYCHA developments in Manhattan between 2018 and 2022, demanded and accepted cash in exchange for NYCHA contracts. They said he required contractors to pay bribes in order to be awarded the contracts or required bribe payments after the contractor finished the work and needed a NYCHA employee to sign off on the completed job so that the contractor could be paid by NYCHA.

 

They said Colon typically demanded 10% of the contract value, between $500 and $1,000, depending on the size of the contract. They said in total, Colon demanded and accepted around $30,000 in bribes in exchange for awarding no-bid contracts or approving payment on previously awarded contracts worth around $400,000.

 

Prosecutors said that of the 70 individual NYCHA employees charged with bribery and extortion offenses who were arrested in February 2024, as reported, 62 have pleaded guilty, and three have been convicted after trial. They said Colon is the second of the three NYCHA employees convicted after trial to be sentenced. They said the cases of the five remaining defendants, who are each presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty, remain pending.

 

Federal prosecutors said if you believe you have information related to bribery, extortion, or any other illegal conduct by NYCHA employees, contact OIGNYCHA@doi.nyc.gov or (212) 306-3356. They said if you were involved in such conduct to please consider self-disclosing through the SDNY Whistleblower Pilot Program at USANYS.WBP@usdoj.gov.

 

In addition to the prison term, Colon was sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $30,000 and to forfeit $30,000.

 

Clayton praised what he said was the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Department of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), the HUD Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, which work together collaboratively as part of the HSI Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force, as well as the Special Agents and Task Force Officers of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

 

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (“OCDETF”) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

 

This case is being handled by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob R. Fiddelman, Catherine Ghosh, Jane Kim, Jerry J. Fang, and Meredith C. Foster are leading the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialists Jayda Foote and Shirel Garzon.