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The beleaguered ex-CEO of the city’s largest homeless shelter operator was arrested Wednesday for an alleged bribery and kickback scheme — a month after he was ousted from the non-profit amid sexual harassment and assault allegations.
Victor Rivera, 61, pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court to honest services wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud, and money laundering in connection to the Bronx Parent Housing Network.
Prosecutors allege in court papers that Rivera leveraged his position as the head of the non-profit — which has received $274 million from the city since 2017 — to line his own pockets and those of his relatives from 2013 to 2020.
Rivera was earning $306,000 a year as the head of the organization, which runs homeless shelters, soup kitchens and affordable housing facilities.
He allegedly solicited bribes and accepted kickbacks from contractors doing business with the non-profit, netting him hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit payments.
In one scheme, a co-conspirator who subleased property to the Bronx Parent Housing Network also cut checks to a consulting company nominally owned by one of Rivera’s relatives, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors allege that the payments were actually kickbacks and the consulting company was controlled by Rivera, who used the deposited cash to pay down the mortgage on his Stony Point home.
Rivera faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted on the top count.
In February, a New York Times expose reported that 10 women, including homeless women staying in his shelters, have accused Rivera of sexual assault and harassment. Two were paid settlements to keep mum, the report charged.
After one shelter staffer broke off an affair with Rivera, he showed up at her job and allegedly demanded sex, according to the report.
When she refused, he allegedly slapped her across the face and said, “Nobody tells daddy no” — then fired her.
He called the allegations at the time “unfair, baseless and without merit.”
His lawyer, Harlan Protass, didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
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