RETIRED NEW YORK CITY EMPLOYEE PLEADS GUILTY IN MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT TO BRIBERY SCHEME INVOLVING OVER $1 MILLION DOLLARS IN CITY CONTRACTS

PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and ROSE GILL HEARN, the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation("DOI"), announced today that LATIF ABDULMALIK, a retired project manager for construction projects with the New York City Administration For Children's Services ("ACS"), pleaded guilty today in Manhattan federal court to being involved in a bribery scheme in which ABDULMALIK used his position as a project manager to assist a company called Synergy in securing over $1 million dollars in construction contracts from ACS.

According to the Indictment and statements made during today's guilty plea proceeding: During 2005 and 2006, ABDULMALIK, in his position as an ACS project manager for construction projects at ACS child care facilities with federal Health and Human Services ("HHS") Head Start programs, received thousands of dollars from representatives of Synergy in exchange for assisting Synergy in securing over $1 million dollars in ACS construction contracts. ABDULMALIK assisted Synergy by providing information about the expected costs of construction projects before Synergy was required to submit a bid, as well as information about what dollar amounts would make Synergy's contract bids the lowest.

ABDULMALIK also asked a representative of Synergy to submit false, higher bids from other companies to ensure that Synergy received an ACS construction contract as the lowest bidder. In July 2006, ABDULMALIK asked a representative of Synergy to renovate his home kitchen. Subsequently, a representative of Synergy visited ABDULMALIK's home and estimated the costs of the kitchen renovation project. At a meeting in Synergy's offices in Manhattan, ABDULMALIK received and accepted
a check in the amount of $10,000, payable to ABDULMALIK's wife, to cover the costs of renovating ABDULMALIK's home kitchen. ABDULMALIK, 72, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty before United States Magistrate Judge FRANK MAAS. He will be sentenced at a date to be scheduled.

ABDULMALIK admitted to receiving more than $5,000 in bribes as an employee of ACS, which from in or about 2005 through in or about 2006 received more than $10,000 in federal funding from HHS. ABDULMALIK faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or
twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant United States Attorney LOYAAN A. EGAL is in charge of this prosecution.

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