NYPD HQ Construction Contract Foiled by Criminal Indictment

The police are in trouble with Comptroller Brad Lander for trying to use a company under criminal indictment to do work at NYPD headquarters.

Lander is preventing the NYPD from awarding a $5.4 million contract to Michael DeBellas’ MDB Development for work at 1 Police Plaza, the New York Daily News reported. MDB initially secured a $5 million contract in 2021, but saw it expire the following year.

MBD’s first contract was awarded on an emergency basis after parts of the NYPD headquarters building fell off. The company was responsible for inspecting and erecting scaffolding on the building’s facade.

At the beginning of 2023, however, DeBellas, MDB and another employee were indicted on criminal charges. They were accused of participating in a kickback scheme, allegedly using shell companies to steal money from clients. Pertinently, that includes funds distributed in city government construction contracts.

They have pleaded not guilty. An attorney for DeBellas claims “MBD was mistakenly included” in the criminal indictment.

Those charges didn’t stop the NYPD from requesting approval in April for the $5.4 million contract to maintain the scaffolding and conduct facade repairs. Lander’s office rejected that request due to concerns about corruption, according to a letter from Deputy Comptroller for Contracts Charlette Hamamgian.

“Other procurement methods were possible and practicable here, and they could and should have been utilized,” Hamamgian wrote. “Instead, NYPD chose to proceed with an emergency vendor despite being aware of procurement-related indictments.”

The Comptroller’s office claims the NYPD recently acknowledged that it is still using MDB for scaffolding maintenance, despite both the indictment and the lack of a contract in place. The firm has also conducted asbestos testing, window testing and overhead protection since the expiration of its contract, according to Hamamgian.

Since last January, the NYPD has paid MDB $816,000, according to city records, some of which was likely drawn in the form of late payments from the original contract.

— Holden Walter-Warner