NYC building inspectors surrender to cops in bribery scheme

A takedown of corrupt city inspectors Tuesday uncovered a disturbing pattern: The officials routinely took cash to look the other way on serious building code violations, authorities said.

By late Tuesday morning, 49 of 50 defendants were in custody, paraded out of the 1st Precinct stationhouse in Tribeca in handcuffs for arraignment on a variety of corruption charges in multiple schemes dating back to 2012.

The case involved payment of $450,000 in bribes, with city Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark Peters describing a widespread network of corruption in the construction industry and the workers charged with keeping that industry safe.

Among the overlooked violations were some that presented real safety threat, said Peters.

The tainted crew included eight building inspectors, two Buildings Department borough chiefs, five Housing Preservation and Development inspectors, and a Small Business Services employee, according to a source familiar with the case.

Also arrested were multiple contractors and property owners or managers. A handful of defendants are associated with the mob, the source said.

Among the first defendants arraigned was a suspect accused of paying $600 in bribes to expedite delivery of city permits. The hulking suspect entered a not guilty plea, and left the courtroom without saying a word.

Prosecutors, as the arraignments continued, detailed cash payments and wiretap evidence involving the defendants. Buildings inspector Derick St. Rose advised ... developers on how to beat the system, said an assistant district attorney.

One building inspector arrested a month ago by the city Department of Investigation and the NYPD was caught with cocaine and guns, a source said. The worker was in city uniform and getting into a city car, where cops discovered bags of cocaine packaged for apparent sale. A search of this worker's home then turned up illegal firearms, the source said.

The investigation began two years ago and over time investigators uncovered multiple unrelated schemes an indication of just how pervasive the bribe-taking was.

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NYC building inspectors surrender to cops in bribery scheme