BUFFALO, NY – June 22, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that John J. Fischer, Jr., 50, of Getzville, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara, to a felony charge of extortion by color of official right. The offense carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Rogowski, who handled the case, stated that the defendant, currently the Administrator for Capital Improvements for the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, and prior to September, 2007, a Site Manager for the agency, used his official positions with the authority to obtain the services of a contractor doing business on BMHA projects to make certain roof repairs on a private home in Sanborn, New York, work unrelated to the Housing Authority. In pleading guilty, Fischer admitted that he offered to issue “change orders,” which authorize additional payments to contractors, in pending contracts with the BMHA in order to reimburse the contractor for the private work. As part of his plea agreement, the defendant agreed to resign from his position with the Housing Authority.
U.S. Attorney Hochul stated “ he expects that this prosecution of official corruption will send the message that public servants cannot unlawfully enrich themselves at taxpayer expense.”
The plea was the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of James H. Robertson, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Office.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 1, 2010, at 12:30 EST, in Buffalo, N.Y., in front of U.S. District Judge Arcara.
