DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE: Alleged Mob Kickback Scheme May Have Flown Under Yonkers Industrial Development Agency’s Radar
COOPERATING WITNESSES: Company Number Two Says That Yonkers Taxpayer Funded Development Projects Were An ATM For The Mob
FEDS ARE IN YONKERS: The Department of Justice accused three men associated with a subcontractor, carpentry company CWC Contracting, of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and kickbacks.
In return, the department alleged, the bribed employees would pad Mount Vernon carpentry firm CWC Contracting’s bottom line by awarding contracts and approving change orders.
Twelve people, most allegedly associated with the Gambino crime family, were charged in the case, which stemmed from a sting operation.
https://gothamist.com/news/authorities-arrest-11-alleged-members-thriving-gambino-crime-family
Scarsdale resident and alleged captain of the Gambino crime family, Andrew Campos was arrested and he is rumored to have many connections with Yonkers insiders.
Court papers show how Campos, his partner Richard Martino, and a host of underlings allegedly dispensed bribes, kickbacks and violent threats while under FBI surveillance.
But except for the alleged mob figures, the feds did not name many names in their 56-page indictment other than John Simonlacaj, a former development executive at HFZ Capital Group.
The 50-year-old Scarsdale resident has been fired from HFZ, where he was managing director of development.
Simonlacaj pleaded not guilty Friday to wire fraud conspiracy and tax fraud and was released after posting $250,000 bail.
https://thecity.nyc/2019/12/gambino-mob-looted-towers-rising-along-the-high-line-feds-allege.html?
The latest indictment charged a dozen defendants, including alleged members of the Gambino crime family from the Bronx and Westchester.
Simonlacaj’s cousin Mark “Chippy” Kocaj and the alleged mobsters ran a carpentry firm, CWC Contracting, that paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks and bribes to employees of numerous construction and development companies.
Federal investigators said they heard partner, Mark “Chippy” Kocaj, saying the CWC Contracting Corp did $50 million a year
The alleged bribes took place between between June 2018 and June 2019.
The indictment alleged that employees at other real estate firms — “Company #2” and “Company #3” — also received kickbacks from CWC Contracting.
Those firms and other employees went unnamed in the document, though it did say that Company #2 has a site in Yonkers and another in White Plains.
On CWC’s website, the company highlighted eight New York projects it said it worked on. Developers of those projects included RXR Realty and Extell Development.
Extell recently baged tax breaks for a $500M Yonkers development
Extell Development Company recently secured more than $21 million in tax incentives from the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency
Spanning seven buildings along the Hudson River, the project includes 1,395 apartments, 48,000 s/f of commercial space and 1,587 parking spaces all across from the MTA’s Yonkers bus depot.
It’s also the largest undertaking to secure funding from the Yonkers IDA
Along with the $21.3 million in tax breaks, Extell is also secured a Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, agreement with the city, in which it would make a flat payment every year.