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| Government Corruption |
| Former Lead Recovery Consultants at Hagerty, Firm Hired by Bass, Pleaded Guilty to Stealing Disaster Funds |
| 2025-02-11 |
| [BREITBART] Two former disaster recovery experts at Hagerty Consulting, which L.A. Mayor Karen Bass appointed to lead rebuilding efforts after the recent wildfires, pleaded guilty in 2022 and 2023 to defrauding New York City of Hurricane Sandy relief funds. Walter Melnick, who had been hired as a contractor for Evanston, Illinois-based Hagerty Consulting firm, was accused in 2022 of having claimed lodging reimbursements to which he was not entitled, and of making false statements to Sherlocks. Melnick was described in a blurb by another firm as having ''managed New York City's post-Sandy $15 billion recovery program'' while at Hagerty. He has since evidently retired from the industry. Another then-Hagerty consultant, Mark O'Mara, was accused of claiming more than $250,000 in reimbursements to which he was not entitled, and of trying to destroy evidence. Both pleaded guilty after reaching plea agreements. Melnick was sentenced to a year of home confinement, plus two additional years of probation. O'Mara was sentenced to probation. Both had to pay back the total money they had received unlawfully (over $380,000 and over $250,000, respectively). A press statement by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in 2022 described the charges against Melnick: Beginning in or about 2013, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the City of New York received billions of dollars in federal money to fund Hurricane Sandy-related recovery efforts. The City used certain of these funds to hire Company-1 [Hagerty] to assist with Hurricane Sandy relief (the ''Sandy Project''). Company-1 hired MELNICK as an independent contractor to work on the Sandy Project. Related: Karen Bass 02/10/2025 Pam Bondi issues threat to ICE staff leaking internal memos on where next raids are Karen Bass 02/10/2025 LA 'Recovery Chief' Steve Soboroff Drops $500K Salary, Agrees to Work for Free After Grenell's Exposé Karen Bass 02/09/2025 Karen Bass Awards Rebuilding Contract to Hagerty Behind Closed Doors Related: Evanston, Illinois: 2025-02-09 Karen Bass Awards Rebuilding Contract to Hagerty Behind Closed Doors Evanston, Illinois: 2024-02-05 Calls for reparations for black Americans fall apart due to 'intense opposition by the American people': Squad member Cori Bush, who championed payouts faces DOJ probe and taskforces become 'a national embarrassment' Evanston, Illinois: 2022-12-24 Top school principal hides students' academic awards in name of ‘equity' |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 "Of course we hired thieves. How are we supposed to steal all this if we don't have thieves?" |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2025-02-11 17:34 |
| #1 Of course they were hired. Crooks and Blue City Demoncrats stick together. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2025-02-11 04:07 |