Eric Ulrich says he was ready to take a leap of faith after three years facing unresolved bribery charges.

“Dealing with the legal and political situation I’m in right now, it gives you a lot more time than I care to mention,” Ulrich told NBC New York at his Rockaway Park apartment building during his first interview since he pleaded not guilty to bribery charges in 2023.

“Your life is definitely put on pause.”

But Ulrich said having a bit too much time on his hands enabled him to spend the last 8 months quietly exploring the possibility of donating most of his liver to a former constituent in desperate need of a transplant.  The constituent, 59-year-old Anthony Blandino of Ozone Park, supported Ulrich when he ran for City Council and had been waiting in vain on the list for livers from deceased donors.  

“The reality is there are a lot of patients — Antonio is one of them — who need a liver but they’re just too low on the list to get one,” said Dr. Nabil Dagher of the Northwell Transplant Institute in Nassau County who successfully transferred 60 percent of Ulrich’s liver to Antonio Blandino Tuesday.

“Living donors shorten the wait on that list,” Dr. Dagher told NBC New York before the procedure.

Blandino told NBC New York Ulrich was “his gift from God.” 

Until his decision was final, Ulrich said he told no one. Not the recipient. Not his 13-year-old daughter. 

And not the Manhattan DA’s office prosecuting his case.  

“I’ll be damned if they tell me what I can do,” Ulrich said. “I’m trying to save somebody else’s life.”

To be cleared as a liver donor, Ulrich — who turns 41 on February 13 — had to undergo rigorous, extended medical screening.   

“I was looking for a sign from God,” Ulrich said, describing the difficult decision he faced.

Ulrich says the sign he needed came after the final medical test of the donor process, a colonoscopy, when he was still woozy from anesthesia. The doctor could not have been clearer, Ulrich recalled. 

“He said I was a lucky young man. He said ‘in essence you’re trying to save someone else’s life and you wound up saving your own.'”

The Northwell gastroenterologist who performed Ulrich’s colonoscopy confirmed the twist in an interview with NBC New York. 

“It still gives me chills. Him deciding to donate his liver saved his life from colon cancer,” said Dr. Robert Brunner.

Brunner said he found and successfully removed a large precancerous polyp he described as being “weeks or months from turning into cancer.”  The GI specialist explained that because medical guidelines suggest men begin colonoscopy screenings at age 45, Ulrich – 40 – likely would not have discovered that polyp until it was too late.

“In all my years of practice, I can’t recall another moment like that. Just pure goodness on the side of a patient ended up with just an amazing result.” 

Ulrich said in that moment, the path forward became clear. “I knew that I had to move forward with it.  This was the sign that I needed.” 

“There’s no quid pro quo,” Ulrich told NBC New York half-jokingly of the selfless decision to gift a portion of one’s liver. “You can’t sell your organs.”

Asked whether there’s a bit of irony in a frustrated bribery defendant finding the time and space to make a selfless decision and receiving a life-saving gift in return?

“I believe everything happens for a reason. Nothing is coincidence. Good things can come from bad situations,” Ulrich said. “I would like to think that I would have done it before – even when I was in my previous life.  People should not let things externally impact what happens deep down inside.” 

Ulrich told NBC New York he was “very grateful” that in January, the Judge in his case dismissed the largest bribery charge against him – that he had received a sweetheart deal on his Rockaway apartment.  The judge said prosecutors had not acted in bad faith, but had withheld exculpatory evidence from the grand jury.  Ulrich still faces several other charges of accepting baseball tickets and artwork in exchange for allegedly using his official influence as buildings commissioner to dole out favors.

Ulrich said he has only one motive in telling his story to NBC New York. 

“We believe this story might inspire and encourage other people to sign up as an organ donor.”