Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg
Photo by Dean Moses
A former supervisor at the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) was indicted for accepting more than $75,000 worth of bribes, bypassing safety standards while lining his wallet, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said on Monday.
Jake Udeh, 57, of East Stroudsburg, PA, is facing charges including three counts of second-degree bribery receiving and three counts of fourth-degree conspiracy after being accused of approving projects without the proper scrutiny in exchange for cash. Sometimes his loot was as little as a few hundred dollars.
Three construction-industry company owners are defendants in the case, including Anson Tse, 40, Shiming Tam, 70 and Jih Yeuan Hwang, 50, the latter of whom paid Udeh more than $65,000 in international travel perks to Paraguay and Japan.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said Udeh, as an assistant chief plan examiner, allegedly engaged in a bribery conspiracy involving more than 300 construction projects in all five boroughs from 2021 to 2025.
“This type of bribery scheme undermines fair play in the open market in all those companies abiding by the rules. In addition to the facts right before us we allege there’s a broader impact on the market,” said Bragg. “It also undermines the work of the Department of Buildings.”
As part of the scheme, Udeh abused his power by reassigning construction approvals to his team, or directly approving projects himself, in exchange for the perks from Hwang, Tse, and Tam. UDEH typically coordinated the payments through text messages – many of them including specific projects and payment amounts – and met his co-defendants in person to receive cash, according to court documents.
Part of DOB’s role in city government is to ensure the safety of the more than 1 million building and construction sites found around the Big Apple.
Christopher Ryan, acting Department of Investigations commissioner, whose office conducted the investigation with the DA, recommended the jobs overseen by Udeh be audited by DOB to ensure their safety, which the buildings agency is in the process of doing.
“This investigation demonstrates the value of partnership. I thank DOB for referring this matter to DOI and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for their collaboration and dedication to upholding the integrity of the city’s plan review process and in the City’s workforce,” Ryan said.
Ahmed Tigani, DOB commissioner, said he is working with the DA and DOI to help “root out corruption wherever it is found.” He said his department reported a tip to the authorities when staff noticed “suspicious” activity.
“As soon as our staff became aware of suspicious activity related to jobs reviewed by Mr. Udeh, they immediately reported the issue to the Department of Investigation, and our agency has worked with them closely on this case since that time,” Tigani said.
The construction company owners in the case — Hwang, Tse and Tam, face bribery and conspiracy charges.
