Joseph Sdao, a former project manager for the city Department of Parks & Recreation, was sentenced to only 12 weekends in jail for pocketing more than $30,000 to rig Bronx playground contracts. Sdao was the project manager for three Bronx Parks capital construction projects - Heffan Park, Manida Park and Aqueduct Lands Playground.
Sdao was arrested in April in a joint investigation conducted by the New York Attorney General's Office and the DOI.
According to the New York State Attorney General and New York City Department of Investigation, Mr. Sdao pocked more than $ 30,000 dollars in a kickback scheme from a vendor who was awarded two projects. No word on whether or not the vendor has been charged with any wrongdoing.
Sdao was suspended in January pending the investigation and was due to retire in July, according to a source.
Bronx
A former project manager for the city Department of Parks & Recreation was sentenced to 12 weekends in jail for pocketing more than $30,000 to rig Bronx playground
contracts, according to the New York Daily News.
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced Sdao’s conviction and sentence on Thursday.
The AG’s office and the city Department of Investigation had investigated Sdao for taking kickbacks from a construction vendor.
“Corrupt public servants who violate their official duties undermine the public’s confidence in the governmental process and will be vigorously prosecuted by this office,” said Schneiderman in a statement. “Betraying the public’s trust and stealing money from the taxpayers will not be tolerated.”
Sdao’s scheme involved taking bribes on three Bronx playgrounds: Haffen Park in Baychester, Manida Park in Hunts Point and Aqueduct Lands Playground in
University Heights.
Bronx Supreme Court Justice Martin Marcus sentenced Sdao after he pleaded guilty in August to the top charge of felony bribe receiving in the second degree.
Sdao said he agreed to provide the vendor with a copy of an engineer’s estimate - an internal document not intended for the public - before the competitively-bid submission date.
The crook admitted he allowed employees of the vendor to submit invoices to the Parks Department at inflated prices for materials in exchange for a cut of the proceeds, which bankrolled Sdao more than $30,000.
Joseph Sdao is basically grounded for 12 weekends.
A city judge essentially sentenced Joseph Sdao -- a corrupt former project manager for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, who defrauded the city out of more than $30,000 -- to a 12-weekend timeout yesterday, according to the Village Voice.
Judge Martin Marcus of Bronx County Supreme Court sentenced Sdao, 69, of Westbury, N.Y. to 12 weekends in jail and five years probation for a second degree felony bribery charge which Sdao plead guilty to in August.
Apparently Sdao was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. So, "justice" was theoretically served.
"Corruption is insidious, especially when a City manager betrays the public trust by sharing confidential contract information in order to pad his pockets with cash," Rose Gill Hearn, New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner, says. "This defendant's corrupt conduct earned him a conviction and jail sentence."
Sdao earned the 12 weekend getaways by rigging contracts for construction work on several Bronx playgrounds during his tenure as a project manager for the parks department.
He provided a company bidding for the contracts with access to confidential internal department documents -- which gave that company an unfair advantage over other bidders. In return, Sdao received kickbacks on the contracts the company successfully secured.
Along with those kickbacks, Sdao also allowed the contractor to submit inflated billing prices for materials to the parks department in order to pocket the difference between the actual cost of the materials and the inflated bill. Sdao's crooked schemes netted him more than $30,000.
Sdao is not the only sleazy former city official this week to pay the price --albeit a relatively minuscule one -- for stealing from the kids. A Manhattan federal court sentenced former Department of Education consultant, Willard "Ross" Lanham, to more than three years in prison for stealing millions from a project designed to bring Internet connection to city public schools.
An investigation conducted by the New York Attorney General's Office and the DOI led to the April arrest of Sdao in which he was charged with five felony counts of bribery and competition fixing. In addition to his jail and probation sentences, Sdao will also have to pay back the $30,000 he snatched.
"Corrupt public servants who violate their official duties undermine the public's confidence in the governmental process and will be vigorously prosecuted by this office. Betraying the public's trust and stealing money from the taxpayers will not be tolerated," N.Y. Attorney General Schneidermanin said in a release following Sdao's sentencing.
Hopefully the Attorney General will continue to expose corrupt officials. Let's just hope those officials will be required to spend at least a few weekdays in the pen.
Read More:
New York Daily News - September 21, 2012 - By Corinne Lestch
The Village Voice - By Jason Lewis - Sepember 21, 2012
A Walk In The Park - April 14, 2012
