The former manager of Manhattan’s federally-subsidized Tricham Houses, located at 109-121 E. 130th Street has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison for a bribery scheme that placed ineligible families in Section 8 Housing in exchange for cash bribes, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today.
This April, the manager, Novelette “Pat” Campbell, 55, was found guilty in federal court of accepting bribes in connection with federal program funds, conspiracy to accept bribes in connection with federal program funds and four counts of false statements related to HUD certifications, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Between April 2000 and October 2011, Ms. Campbell accepted bribes between $2,000 and $9,000 for placing tenants who were not on a waiting list in federally-subsidized apartments, according to the U.S. Attorney, essentially selling spots on the waiting list and thereby blocking tenants from moving in who had been on the list for years. She was also convicted of falsifying documents to make it appear that the individuals she place were qualified for apartments and that all HUD protocols and procedures had been followed.
“For concocting and carrying out a scheme to trade spots on the waiting list for the Tricham Houses apartments in exchange for bribes of up to $9,000, Novelette ‘Pat’ Campbell has earned herself a spot in the housing of a federal prison,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.
In addition to her prison term, Ms. Campbell, a Bronx resident, was sentenced to three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $35,500 in forfeiture and a $600 special assessment fee.
The investigation into housing fraud, being conducted by HUD and ICE, will continue, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.