Jocelyn E. Strauber, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”), issued the following statement on the guilty plea of a licensed pedicab driver for offering money to an employee of the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (“DCWP”) in exchange for obtaining authentic pedicab registration plates outside of the registration plate lottery. The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., prosecuted the case.
SHOKHRU ALIMOV, 41, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty today to Bribery in the Second Degree, a class C felony, in State Supreme Court in Manhattan as part of a plea agreement that recommends a five-year probationary sentence. ALIMOV forfeited the $7,500 provided to the undercover DOI investigator and immediately surrendered his two DCWP-issued licenses, a Pedicab Driver License and a Pedicab Business License. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 5, 2024.
DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said, “This defendant tried to shortcut the City’s licensing process by offering a bribe to a City inspector, but a City employee reported the defendant’s criminal conduct to DOI, as City employees are legally required to do. That report, and the investigation that followed, resulted in the defendant’s guilty plea today. I thank the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for their partnership in this investigation and commitment to maintaining a robust and equitable licensing scheme.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., said, “Shokhru Alimov offered and agreed to pay a City inspector $7,500 for 15 pedicab registration plates, outside of the official process. His actions undermined the licensing process that exists to keep New Yorkers and tourists safe. I thank our law enforcement partners for their ongoing collaboration and assistance.”
DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga said, “Our business inspections are vital to protecting consumers and our City’s tourism industry. We thank the Department of Investigation and the District Attorney’s office for working with us to uphold the integrity of our business licensing and inspections.”
ALIMOV was indicted last year after offering to pay a DCWP inspector a total of $60,000 for 34 pedicab registration plates. After making that offer, in separate conversations, ALIMOV offered to give $7,500 to the DCWP inspector for 15 DCWP pedicab registration plates immediately, an additional $7,500 to renew the plates in November 2023, along with more money for more pedicab registration plates in the future. ALIMOV was charged with Bribery in the Second Degree.
According to the indictment and court documents, on May 10, 2023, at the Central Park North Meadow Recreation Center, ALIMOV approached a senior inspector of DCWP conducting pedicab inspections and offered to pay $60,000 in exchange for his assistance in obtaining 34 pedicab registration plates. The DCWP inspector then immediately reported the offer to DOI.
The registration plate sticker is required to operate a pedicab-for-hire and DCWP issues 840 pedicab registration plates a year to enforce the New York City limit of 850 pedicabs. DCWP also limits each individual or company to 30 registered pedicabs.
Registration plates can either be obtained through DCWP’s annual pedicab registration plate lottery or by purchasing a plate from another pedicab licensee with the approval of DCWP. ALIMOV won one pedicab registration plate in the 2023 lottery.
On June 6, 2023, ALIMOV met with the DCWP inspector and a DOI confidential investigator posing as a DCWP licensing official outside of DCWP headquarters in the Financial District. ALIMOV was arrested immediately after giving the DOI confidential investigator $7,500 in exchange for 15 pedicab registration plates.
Commissioner Strauber thanked DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga and her staff for their cooperation on this investigation; and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg.
No comments:
Post a Comment