State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli's Weekly News - Greater Transparency Needed From Empire State Development Corporation

 

ESD Needs To Increase Transparency of Its Real Estate Holdings and Sales of Properties Below Fair Market Value

The State’s Empire State Development (ESD) agency has not been meeting statutory requirements to provide accurate, annual reports of its real estate holdings, and has sold several for as little as $1 with insufficient information about the economic benefits of the transfer compared to the fair market value of the property, according to an audit from Comptroller DiNapoli.

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State Pension Fund Valued at $267.7 Billion at End of First Quarter

Comptroller DiNapoli announced that the estimated value of the New York State Common Retirement Fund was $267.7 billion at the end of the first quarter of State fiscal year 2024-25. For the three-month period ending June 30, 2024, Fund investments returned an estimated 1.38%.

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Local Sales Tax Collections Nearly Flat in July

Local sales tax collections in New York State increased by 0.2% in July compared to July 2023, according to data released by Comptroller DiNapoli. Overall, local collections totaled $1.82 billion for the month, up $3.1 million from the same time last year.

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Owner and Employee of Medical Transport Company Arrested for Defrauding Medicaid

Comptroller DiNapoli, Schenectady County District Attorney Robert M. Carney, and Schenectady County Sheriff Dominic Dagostino announced the arrest of Muhammad Adnan Saeed, owner of Sublime Medical Transportation, and Heather Smith, an employee/driver for the company, for the alleged theft of over $700,000 from the State’s Medicaid program. Saeed and Smith are alleged to have inflated bills by falsely claiming that group rides were separate, individual rides and thereby unlawfully received mileage payments for each individual in the group.

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Audits

• Department of Agriculture and Markets
• Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance – Reimbursement of Homeless Shelter Providers – Rescue Mission Alliance of Syracuse
• Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
• New York City Department of Finance
• Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance – Reimbursement of Homeless Shelter Providers – Westhab Inc.’s Coachman Family Center
• New York State Health Insurance Program

School & Municipal Audits

• Northeastern Clinton Central School District – Transportation State Aid
• Northeastern Clinton Central School District – Foster Care Tuition Billing
• Campbell-Savona Central School District
• Town of Summit
• Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Board of Cooperative Educational Services
• Town of Harpersfield
• Town of Otselic

ALSO IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK

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• Audit: Major insurer overpaid $5M in claims for N.Y. retirees
  

• Amid mortality crisis, bill hopes to make maternal depression screenings part of routine care

• State's Development agency must improve transparency on real estate sales, audit finds

Post of the Week
Tom DiNapoli @NYSComptroller 

Second Former Memphis Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Federal Civil Rights and Conspiracy Charges Tied to Death of Tyre Nichols

 

A former Memphis, Tennessee, Police Department (MPD) officer facing federal civil rights charges for the tragic killing of Tyre Nichols pleaded guilty in federal court.

Emmitt Martin III, pleaded guilty to civil rights and conspiracy charges arising out of the Jan. 7, 2023, incident. Martin is the second MPD officer to plead guilty in this case.

On Sept. 12, 2023, a federal jury returned a four-count indictment against Martin and four co-defendants. The charges included using excessive force resulting in the death of Nichols; aiding and abetting each other in using that excessive force; failing to intervene to stop the excessive force; failing to render medical aid; and conspiring or taking action to cover up their misconduct. On Nov. 2, 2023, co-defendant Desmond Mills entered a guilty plea to civil rights and conspiracy charges.

The remaining three defendants will face a federal trial scheduled for Sept. 9.

In this court appearance, Martin pleaded guilty to counts one and three of the indictment. Count one charged Martin with using excessive force and failing to intervene in the unlawful assault. Count three charged Martin with conspiring to cover up his use of unlawful force by omitting material information and by providing false and misleading information to his supervisor and to others. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Kevin Ritz for the Western District of Tennessee, and Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico of the FBI Memphis Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Memphis Field Office investigated this case. 

Permits Filed for 3728 Park Avenue in Claremont, The Bronx

 

Permits have been filed for an 18-story mixed-use building with affordable housing at 3728 Park Avenue in Claremont, The Bronx. Located at the intersection of Park Avenue and St. Pauls Place, the lot is closest to the 170th Street subway station, serviced by the B and D trains. New York City Housing Authority is listed as the owner behind the applications.

The proposed 197-foot-tall development will yield 493,018 square feet, with 433,463 square feet designated for residential space and 59,555 square feet for community facility space. The building will have 229 residences, which includes senior housing and supportive social services. The steel-based structure will also have a cellar but no accessory parking.

Magnusson Architecture and Planning is listed as the architect of record.

Demolition permits will likely not be needed as the lot is vacant. An estimated completion date has not been announced.