Several high-ranking officials in the New York City government were recently searched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate alleged collective corruption and abuse of power for personal gain. Sources revealed that clues suggest two of them are suspected of manipulating city contracts and receiving kickbacks.
According to the New York Post, sources stated that federal authorities are investigating whether the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, Phil Banks, manipulated city contracts by awarding contracts to companies represented by his brother Terence Banks for lobbying, including: application developer Saferwatch, information technology companies Derive Technologies and SVAM International, as well as grocery delivery application Mercato. Online records show that these companies collectively signed contracts worth millions of dollars with the city government.
Sources also mentioned that investigators are looking into Timothy Pearson, a mayoral advisor and retired inspector from the New York City Police Department, who may have taken advantage of his role in approving city contracts to receive kickbacks. Mayor Adams tasked Pearson with approving immigrant service contracts to prevent them from always going to the same contractors, but Pearson managed to approve 20 immigration security contracts in one week. Pearson was embroiled in a lawsuit in April this year, accused of profiting from immigrant service contracts. In October two years ago, he openly asked some city department employees where his “crumbs” were, indicating that contractors were making a significant profit from these contracts. Additionally, Pearson is also involved in three other lawsuits, including a sexual harassment case.