28 N.Y. Inspectors Accused of Extortion

Twenty-eight current and former health inspectors were named in complaints today accusing them of extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars from restaurants to ignore sanitary code violations, authorities say.

The charges in the federal complaint involve at least one-third of the city Health Department’s inspection force of 70, and 300 restaurants in all five boroughs, U.S. Atty. Andrew J. Maloney of Brooklyn said in a news release.

The arrests this morning culminated a three-year undercover investigation by the FBI, the city Department of Investigation and the U.S. attorney’s office. This week agents confronted a number of suspects to get them to wear microphones to gather evidence against the leaders of the bribery ring.

A report in today’s New York Daily News said the operation was code-named alternatively “Operation Kitchen” and “Operation Fork-It-Over.”

The restaurants paid the bribes to avoid citations for violations either real or invented, authorities said. The names of the restaurants were not made public, but they ranged from fast-food restaurants to famous eateries, they said.

The investigation also found that on-site inspectors split their take with supervisors, who allegedly would punish inspectors who were reluctant to share the extortion money with them, authorities said.

In one incident, inspectors demanded $1,400 from a restaurant owner so his restaurant would not be closed for serious health violations, according to the news release. In another, inspectors charged a restaurant $1,200 to allow it to reopen despite serious violations.

Payoffs reached hundreds of thousands of dollars altogether. The Daily News said the restaurant owners are considered extortion victims and are not being charged.

Inspectors and supervisors are paid $25,000 to $30,000 annually by the city. More than 15,000 food establishments are inspected each year for compliance with health and cleanliness standards.