A former New York City police sergeant now with the University of Massachusetts Boston police force was arrested Tuesday for his alleged role in a bribery and kickback scheme connected to a nonprofit that operated New York City homeless shelters for migrants and provided in-home care services to the sick and elderly, according to federal prosecutors.<\/p>\n
Edouardo St. Fort, 47, of Taunton, is accused of paying bribes and kickbacks to two leaders of the taxpayer-backed nonprofit that operated the migrant shelters in exchange for business contracts worth millions of dollars, according to court records. His company provided security services to the shelters, prosecutors said. <\/p>\n
Four men were charged in federal court in Brooklyn for their alleged involvement. Prosecutors said two heads of the nonprofit, Jean Ronald Tirelus, the former board chairman, and Roberto Samedy, its former executive director, also allegedly embezzled more than $1.3 million from the organization. <\/p>\n
Tirelus and Samedy allegedly received more than $200,000 in bribes and kickbacks in exchange for directing contracts to businesses controlled by St. Fort and another defendant, Miguel Jorge, according to the indictment. <\/p>\n
St. Fort was arrested in Boston and released after posting a $500,000 unsecured bond at the John Joseph Moakley Courthouse. As a condition of his release, he was ordered to surrender his three firearms, records show.<\/p>\n
He is expected to be arraigned at a later date in federal court in Brooklyn, where he faces up to a decade in prison on federal program bribery and related charges, federal prosecutors in New York<\/a> said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs alleged, the defendants used their leadership positions to loot public funds from an organization devoted to serving vulnerable New Yorkers,\u201d Joseph Nocella, the US Attorney in Brooklyn, said in a statement. <\/p>\n Attorney Scott Lauer, who represented St. Fort in Boston, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.<\/p>\n The charges come amid a broader federal public corruption investigation examining whether a New York City Council member and a top aide to New York Governor Kathy Hochul accepted bribes related to the appropriation of city funds to the nonprofit at the center of the case, BHRAGS Home Care Corp., the Associated Press<\/a> reported. <\/p>\n The nonprofit has received nearly $200 million in contracts from New York City since 2022, when it expanded its work to include emergency shelters for migrants amid an influx to the city, the AP reported.<\/p>\n The case was referred to federal authorities by the city\u2019s Department of Social Services, which raised concerns about payments made to St. Fort\u2019s company, Fort NYC Security.<\/p>\n The scheme involving St. Fort allegedly took place between February 2023 and January 2024, records show.<\/p>\n St. Fort retired from the NYPD in 2023. That same year, his security company received a $3 million contract from the Department of Homeless Services, according to records obtained by the AP<\/a>. <\/p>\n During his time in New York, St. Fort faced allegations of police misconduct, according to 50-a.org<\/a>, a website that tracks officer discipline. In one instance, he was accused of an unlawful strip search. That lawsuit was ultimately settled<\/a> by the city for $12,500, and St. Fort was cleared of any wrongdoing by the department.<\/p>\n He joined the UMass Boston Police Department in 2024 after the Municipal Police Training Committee voted to waive the requirement that he graduate from police academy due to his prior experience, agenda meeting minutes show<\/a>. St. Fort was certified by the Peace Officer and Standards and Training Commission<\/a>, records show.<\/p>\n He made more than $112,000 in 2025 as a police sergeant at UMass Boston, state payroll records show<\/a>. <\/p>\n Crystal Valencia, a UMass Boston spokesperson, confirmed Wednesday that St. Fort is employed at the school. She did not say whether he had been placed on leave, saying the school \u201ccannot comment on personnel matters.\u201d<\/p>\n Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her @shannonlarson98<\/a>.<\/p>\n