70 NYCHA Employees Charged in Biggest Bribery Raid in Justice Department History

Dozens of NYCHA employees have been charged with bribery and extortion following a vast corruption investigation.

Members of Homeland Security Investigations and New York City Department of Investigation load people arrested on to a bus, after many current and former New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) employees were charged with bribery and extortion offenses, in New York on Feb. 6, 2024. Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Prosecutors said Tuesday that 70 current and former employees of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) face bribery and extortion charges in what officials say is the biggest number of such charges issued in a single day in the history of the U.S. Justice Department.

The defendants are accused of demanding over $2 million in corrupt payments from contractors in exchange for awarding over $13 million worth of no-bid contracts, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).