Luis Adorno, formerly the supervisory construction project manager of the Department of Architecture and Construction Engineering at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for his corruption conviction for taking bribes.
Before being arrested in June 2012, Adorno was responsible for conducting inspections of HPD construction projects and supervising other inspectors. HPD is the largest municipal developer of affordable housing in the nation.
During 2008 and 2009, a contractor who worked on several HPD construction projects paid Adorno $100,000 to obtain additional work from the city agency.
The Department of Justice said the bribe was structured in a manner to ensure that actual cash did not pass through Adorno’s hands. Rather, the contractor paid $100,000 to a real estate developer who was handling construction work for several HPD projects, and in return for the money, the developer agreed to give Adorno a 30% equity stake in his company.
“Luis Adorno admitted that he agreed to put his finger on the scale in favor of a contractor who paid him $100,000 in bribes. By receiving payment in the form of an equity stake in a real estate development company, Adorno sought to create the bribe that would keep on giving,” said Loretta E. Lynch, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. “This sentence sends a clear message that any public servant, whether an elected legislator or an appointed official, who betrays the public trust will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
This sentencing is part of the federal government’s investigation into corruption involving the affordable housing industry in New York City. Previous guilty pleas that have already taken place include four real estate developers and two other former HPD officials on charges that include racketeering conspiracy, fraud, and bribery.
As part of his sentence, Adorno was ordered to forfeit $100,000 in bribery money to the government. He was also fined $10,000.
“This ex-city employee lost his job and his bribe money and will soon take up residence in a prison cell. That was not the nest egg he bargained for when he sold his office for a hidden stake in a real estate deal,” said New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Gill Hearn.
