Senior Executive Director For Facilities Management At Bellevue Hospital Arrested

Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced today the indictment and arrest of a senior executive director for facilities management at Bellevue Hospital for official misconduct after she pressured vendors and employees to provide goods and services for her home.

The defendant, FARIDEH TABAEI, 55, of Long Island, was indicted on charges of official misconduct. The crimes charged in the indictment occurred between July 2004 and April 2005.

The investigation leading to today’s indictment and arrest revealed that during her tenure, TABAEI had the sole authority to solicit and approve contracts for up to $50,000 and the authority to supervise contracts for far in excess of that amount, including contracts for millions of dollars in goods, services, and construction for Bellevue Hospital. For example, the owner of a business that imports fine stone and statues, and with dozens of contracts with Bellevue Hospital awaiting TABAEI’s approval, was pressured into providing $6,500 worth of stone work for TABAEI’s home for $3,000, as well as giving TABAEI two stone statues valued at $2,000 without charge. In another instance, the owner of an office furnishing company who regularly did business with Bellevue and who was awaiting TABAEI’s approval on contracts worth more than $1 million, was pressured by TABAEI to sell her six chairs for her personal use valued at $276 each for $75 each.

This investigation was commenced by the District Attorney after the Office of the Inspector General for New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation reported TABAEI was abusing her power at Bellevue Hospital. She started at Bellevue in 1986 and has been working in her current position for the past 13 years. Her salary is $199,000.

TABAEI was indicted on two counts of Official Misconduct, class A misdemeanors, which are each punishable by up to 1 year in prison. She is scheduled to be arraigned today in State Supreme Court, Part 1.

Mr. Morgenthau thanked Inspector General for New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation Norman Dion and Deputy Inspector Generals Lisa Lee and James Liptack.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos, Senior Investigative Counsel in the Rackets Bureau, is handling the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Deborah Hickey, Deputy Chief of the Rackets Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Eric Seidel, Chief of the Rackets Bureau. District Attorney Investigator Michael Wigdor assisted under the supervision of Deputy Chief Investigator Terry Mulderrig and Chief Investigator Joseph Pennisi.

Defendant Information:
FARIDEH TABAEI, 9/23/1954
195 Links Drive
Oceanside, New York

Comments

  1. More often than less people think no one is watching. Tabaei did not actually took any money from contractors, she only got some work done by them, which was a conflict of interest and she got in trouble for that.

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