MARGARET GARNETT, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”),
announced the agency’s statistics for Calendar Yearend (“CY”) 2018, which showed steady outcomes in several
areas, specifically, arrests, current and closed investigations, and policy and procedure recommendations. In CY
2018:
DOI made 720 arrests, comparable to CY 2017, when DOI’s investigations resulted in 738
arrests.
There were more than 15,000 complaints to DOI in CY 2018, an increase from 12,440 in CY
2017.
DOI had approximately 2,073 investigations on its docket in CY 2018, similar to the previous
calendar year, when it had 2,023.
DOI closed 1,439 investigations in CY 2018, as compared to 1,344 closed investigations in CY
2017.
DOI issued an estimated 1,871 policy and procedure recommendations in CY 2018, an
increase from the 1,118 the agency issued in CY 2017.
“Numbers are important as an introduction to the larger story of this agency,” said DOI Commissioner
Margaret Garnett. “But numbers should not be viewed in isolation and must be understood in the context of the
types of investigations, arrests and reforms that result from DOI’s work. Holding public officials and City agencies
accountable; finding and fixing problems that impair the City’s ability to be effective; protecting public funds and
the safety of New Yorkers: these are the tangible results of DOI’s work and the meaningful outcomes that make
these statistics matter. I commend the staff at DOI for their hard work in 2018.”
Some highlights of DOI cases from 2018 include:
A former Brooklyn Assemblywoman was charged, pleaded guilty, and sentenced to prison for
multiple fraud schemes and witness tampering. DOI worked with the office of the United
States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(“FBI”) on the investigation.
The arrest of 17 certified asbestos investigators on charges of filing documents that falsely
stated planned construction at dozens of properties in Manhattan and Staten Island would not
disturb asbestos. DOI worked with the District Attorney offices for Manhattan, Queens, and
Staten Island, as well as the City Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”). The
investigation resulted from concerns brought to DOI by DEP asbestos enforcement staff.
Separately, DOI worked with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office on an investigation that led
to the indictment of five people and two businesses in connection with the illegal renovation of
four properties in the borough, allegedly conspiring to bypass safety protocols, including asbestos abatement, using forged documents and falsifying business records to maximize
profits.
A year-long investigation that found the Police Department’s Special Victims Division (“SVD”),
which investigates cases involving sexual assaults, was understaffed and under-resourced.
Following this investigation, the Police Department added over 60 new investigators to the
SVD squads that investigate adult sex-crimes. Upgrades to current SVD facilities are
underway and new facilities are being planned. And the prioritization of stranger rape over
acquaintance rape has ended.
A joint investigation with the Manhattan District Attorney and other law enforcement partners
resulted in the indictment of 13 individuals and nine companies on charges of engaging in
three separate schemes that involved bribery, business fraud and misrepresentations about
political campaign contributions. The investigation also revealed how a City employee and
contractors corrupted the integrity of the City’s procurement and minority business enterprise
program. Read DOI’s report on the investigation.
DOI continued its focus on rooting out contraband smuggling and other corruption from the
City’s jails, making a dozen separate arrests of Correction Officers and other City Department
of Correction personnel on contraband, assault, false filing and other charges. In December
2018, DOI was part of the joint investigation that resulted in the indictment of 29 alleged Mac
Balla gang members and associates on crimes that included attempted murder, assault and
smuggling scalpels into jails.
A DOI investigation found that the City Department of Homeless Services (“DHS”) did not
adequately screen for criminality before placing homeless families with children at commercial
hotels. The investigation led DOI to issue recommendations that called for strengthening DHS
protocols for vetting potential hotel sites and mitigate risks associated with ongoing criminal
activity.
Criminal complaints and indictments are accusations. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
