Long Island Village Official Convicted Of Corruption, Fraud

Cornell Bozier, the former chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Village of Hempstead Housing Authority was convicted by a jury on Tuesday of multiple corruption charges.

Bozier, 58, of North Baldwin, was convicted of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and federal program bribery. He is now facing up to 20 years in jail when he is sentenced.

“As found by the jury, having been trusted to serve the residents of low-income housing as a Village of Hempstead public official, Bozier instead lied, cheated and stole federal funds for himself,” said United States Attorney Richard Donoghue. “If, like Mr. Bozier, you betray the public you are hired to serve, expect to find yourself in a courtroom facing the consequences.”

The Village of Hempstead Housing Authority (VHHA) is responsible for providing and maintaining safe and affordable low-income housing in the village. As chairman, Bozier controlled the board and could bypass HUD regulations for bidding and for awarding construction projects. According to Donoghue, between March 2011 and Noember 2012, Bozier and contractors James Alimonos and Peter Caras defrauded the village and the VHHA by soliciting and accepting bribes and kickbacks in exchange for Bozier using his position to ensure that the Housing Authority board accepted fraudulent bids for construction projects.

The trial outlined all of the fraud that Bozier was party to.

In August 2011, Bozier fraudulently obtained an “emergency” designation from the board for repair of the intercom system at a VHHA property on Totten Avenue without the public bid requirement. Alimonos then directed another co-conspirator to submit a falsely inflated bid of $95,740 to replace the intercom system. Alimonos paid Bozier approximately $30,000 for securing the board’s acceptance of the fraudulent bid.

In September 2011, the VHHA received four proposals from companies controlled by Alimonos to replace the roof of a building on Yale Street. Bozier accepted a bid of $248,000, although the bid lacked the required paperwork. Bozier then secured the board’s approval, and the VHHA paid a total of $273,900 for the project. Afterward, Alimonos hired another construction company to replace the roof for $23,000. In return, Bozier received a kickback of approximately $55,000.

In July 2012, the VHHA received two proposals from companies controlled by Alimonos to repair the boiler piping system at a building on Gladys Avenue. Bozier ensured that the $164,000 contract was awarded to a company established in the name of Alimonos’s wife, although the bid lacked the required supporting information. Alimonos then hired another construction company to do the repair work for approximately $26,000. In return, Bozier received approximately $30,000 in kickback payments from Alimonos and Caras.

Alimonos and Caras previously pleaded guilty to honest service fraud conspiracy and testified at trial against Bozier. Both are awaiting sentencing.

“Plain and simple, this is a case of greed; Bozier and his co-conspirators engaged in public corruption for personal gain,” said Christina Scaringi, special agent-in-charge of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General. "We are not talking about the abstract here, this is a case involving real money that should have been used to improve the lives of those living within the public housing authority that these offenders were entrusted to serve.”