A former state authority head tried to attain kickbacks as a part of a disastrous “predatory” program meant to assist deprived folks arrange hashish retailers, a brand new lawsuit alleges.
Reuben McDaniel, the ex-chief of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, rejected a multimillion-dollar deal to put in safety cameras in hashish dispensaries final yr — as a result of he and his cronies had been upset they wouldn’t be capable to siphon off sufficient taxpayer cash from the settlement, an Illinois-based agency claims in its Manhattan Supreme Court docket go well with.
“DASNY Brokers decided by way of inner correspondence that they had been unhappy with the potential earnings that they might be entitled to from the unlawful lower of the NY Initiatives that they had been making an attempt to barter,” the lawsuit says.
The plaintiffs — America Secure Cities and its CEO Thomas Bowling — contend in courtroom paperwork that McDaniel and “DASNY Brokers” mentioned the agency would obtain a $100 million no-bid contract to put in surveillance techniques at greater than 300 hashish dispensaries, in addition to SUNY and CUNY campuses.
McDaniel, a former Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointee, quietly left the company final yr.
The authority is the state’s “amenities finance and building authority,” in accordance with its LinkedIn web page — and the lawsuit is simply the most recent black eye for it.
DASNY and Gov. Kathy Hochul have beforehand been criticized for signing off on a funding settlement with a non-public fairness agency to assist present financing for folks convicted of drug offenses to arrange hashish dispensaries by way of the state’s Hashish Social Fairness Fund.
The fund ended up charging potential attendees exorbitantly excessive, arguably predatory, rates of interest on loans backed by the state based mostly on massively overinflated projections on how a lot earnings they might generate.
Based on bombshell reporting from the CITY, Hochul’s workplace ignored purple flags raised by her personal hashish regulatory company in regards to the DASNY fund.
The brand new lawsuit additionally targets Emory Alexander, a “marketing consultant” who linked McDaniel and Bowling as early as 2021, properly over a yr earlier than the fairness fund’s first dispensary would open.
It alleges that Alexander labored as McDaniel’s “liaison” and “designated agent” between 2021 and 2023 — on the similar time a LinkedIn web page showing to belong to Alexander lists himself as president of America Secure Cities for eight months starting in October 2022. It’s unclear precisely what function Alexander might have performed within the alleged scheme.
“DASNY doesn’t touch upon pending litigation,” a DASNY rep wrote in response to questions from The Publish.
Bowling didn’t reply to request for remark.
Alexander couldn’t be reached for remark.
A rep for the state inspector common’s workplace mentioned he received’t “verify or deny the existence of any investigations,” as is the workplace’s protocol.
McDaniel quietly stepped down final yr and has since taken over as managing director on the Alice L. Walton basis.
The inspiration didn’t reply to a question from The Publish.
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