Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Ricky J. Patel, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), Keechant L. Sewell, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), and Jocelyn Strauber, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”), announced the unsealing of a two-count Indictment charging nine defendants with racketeering conspiracy and extortion conspiracy. Eight of the defendants were arrested yesterday and presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron in federal court in Manhattan. Defendant JATIEK SMITH was arrested and presented in the District of Puerto Rico. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff.
The defendants, who include members of the violent Bloods street gang, took control of First Response Cleaning Corp. (“First Response”), a Brooklyn-based company which provides clean-up services to properties damaged by fire. The defendants used First Response as a vehicle to extort other participants in the fire mitigation industry and to assert control over the industry using violence and threats of violence.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “We are smoking out corruption and violence in the fire mitigation industry with today’s charges. As alleged, the defendants used...
University of Rochester Medical Center and a former pathologist resolved a retaliation suit alleging URMC violated the False Claims Act by firing her for calling attention to federal grant fraud. ...