Former Hempstead Housing Chairman Sentenced For $800K Kickback Scam

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Cornell Bozier, age 63 of North Baldwin, received his sentence of 10 years in prison on Monday, March 11, according to the US Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Eastern District of New York.

From 2011 to 2013, Bozier served as the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners for the Village of Hempstead Housing Authority (VHHA), during which the department received nearly $1 million in federal funds.

As the department was established to help provide safe, sanitary, and affordable housing to citizens who need it, part of Bozier’s responsibilities included coordinating and securing the funds needed for construction projects.

The USAO said Bozier used his position of power to his advantage; he bribed and threatened other board members to go along with his schemes, declared projects as emergencies so that he could sidestep the typical procedures for getting funds, and often exaggerated the costs of repairs.

After receiving the money, Bozier would subcontract the work out at a fraction of the cost — often leading to shoddy work and repairs — while splitting the rest of the funding between himself and his co-conspirators.

For example, the housing authority paid Devlin Mac Construction, a co-conspirator company, $273,900 in funding to replace a new roof on an apartment building.

Bozier instead paid a subcontractor $23,000 to patch and repair certain sections of the roof. The remainder of the money was split between the conspirators, with Bozier receiving $55,000 in kickbacks.

In total, the USAO said Bozier diverted more than $800,000 in housing authority funds to his co-conspirators. He took more than $100,000 for himself.

“[Bozier] exploited his official position…to enrich himself at the expense of the elderly, disabled, and low-income residents whom he was meant to serve,” said Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

He was found guilty of fraud and bribery by a jury in 2019. 

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