New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the sentencing of an associate of the Genovese crime family. Thomas Poli, 65, of the Bronx, intentionally submitted false information to the court regarding his own criminal case and participated in commercial bribery related to contracts with Aguila, Inc. (Aguila), an often criticized and now defunct homeless services provider. Poli was sentenced to nine months in prison for Offering a False Instrument for Filing and Commercial Bribing.
“Rather than honor his word and his plea agreement, Thomas Poli lied to the court and got others to lie on his behalf — all to get out of just a day of court-ordered community service,” said Attorney General James. “Now Poli must pay for his selfishness. My office will continue to hold corrupt individuals accountable, and I am grateful to our partners in law enforcement for their ongoing support in defending our justice system.”
In order to satisfy the conditions of a plea agreement on a 2019 criminal charge, Poli requested then Bronx County Clerk Luis Diaz draft a letter to the court stating that Poli performed volunteer work for Aguila. In reality, Poli did not perform any community service for the organization, and in fact, he was paid by Aguila for vending, storage, and furniture contracts. In July 2022, Diaz pleaded guilty to one count of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, a class E felony, for his role in creating the fraudulent letter submitted by Poli to the court.
In September 2023, Poli was arraigned and pleaded guilty in Bronx County Supreme Court to one count of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, a class E felony, and one count of Commercial Bribing in the Second Degree, a class A misdemeanor. In addition to the felony charge, Poli also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge related to a kickback payment made to Aguila leadership in exchange for influence over some of the organization’s contracts and contract payments.
In April 2022, unrelated to his 2019 criminal case, Poli was charged with racketeering conspiracy following a joint investigation by the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) for his role in illegal gambling and related extortions in connection with the Genovese crime family. Poli has since pleaded guilty and was sentenced in federal court.
This was a joint investigation between OAG’s Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) and OAG’s Public Integrity Bureau, led by former OCTF Detective John Mullen under the direction of OCTF Detective Supervisor Bradford Miller and Deputy Chief Andrew Boss. The Investigations Division is led by Chief Oliver Pu-Folkes.
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