{"id":377281,"date":"2026-10-19T21:48:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T21:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/377281\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T21:48:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T21:48:20","slug":"nyc-prosecutors-slam-ex-dob-commish-eric-ulrich-as-a-compromised-politician","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/377281\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC prosecutors slam ex-DOB commish Eric Ulrich as a ‘compromised politician’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ex-New York City Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich was a \u201ccompromised politician\u201d so desperate for cash that<\/a> he accepted bribes \u2014 including $10,000 Mets season tickets \u2014 so his inner circle could be closer to former Mayor Eric Adams, Manhattan prosecutors said Monday at the start of his trial.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey say politics is the art of the possible, but for these defendants, public office was nothing more than an office for personal gain,\u201d Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Guy Tardanico charged, pointing at Ulrich, 41, and co-defendant Michael Mazzio, during opening statements of the corruption trial. <\/p>\n

Ulrich, a former Republican city councilman, and Mazzio, the operator of a Brooklyn towing company, are finally standing trial more than three years after the pair were indicted for allegedly trading political favors for tens of thousands of dollars worth of bribes.<\/p>\n

Eric Ulrich\u2019s long-awaited bribery trial kicked off Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court. Steven Hirsch for NY Post<\/p>\n

Prosecutors said Ulrich, who led the DOB for just six months before disgracefully resigning, \u201cbetrayed the public\u2019s trust\u201d when he used the position to allow short cuts for friends, who returned the favor by padding his wallet with \u201ctens of thousands of dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

In one instance, Ulrich allegedly used his power to clean up a mouse infestation at Aldo\u2019s Pizzeria & Restaurant, owned by co-defendants Anthony and Joseph Livreri, on Valentine\u2019s Day 2022.<\/p>\n

The Livreri brothers, who pleaded guilty last month to bribery and conspiracy charges<\/a>, needed the restaurant back open when a health inspector closed it down after finding hundreds of fresh mice droppings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Livreri\u2019s immediately called Eric Ulrich,\u201d Tardanico said, adding that the then-buildings commissioner initially said he he couldn\u2019t get involved because he was afraid he\u2019d \u201close his job.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Ulrich, who\u2019d dump half of his government paychecks at Resorts World Casino, couldn\u2019t say no for long, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLess than two hours later, you\u2019ll learn he got involved anyway,\u201d said Tardancio, previewing how Ulrich allegedly got the pizza parlor up and running later that night after involving the mayor\u2019s office with the DOB inspection.<\/p>\n

Manhattan prosecutors called Eric Ulrich a \u201ccompromised politician\u201d who could be bought for a price. Steven Hirsch for NY Post<\/p>\n

Prosecutors alleged Ulrich received funds in electronic payments, a 20-game Mets premium ticket package, and cold hard cash \u2014 including a $4,000 payoff in a parking lot.<\/p>\n

Ulrich then allegedly made \u201cdeliberate efforts\u201d to hide the payments from annual financial disclosures.<\/p>\n

Evidence expected at trial will include surveillance photos, financial and government records, phone calls and text messages \u2014 including one recorded call where Ulrich can be heard verbally counting money, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Ulrich\u2019s attorney, David Jason Cohen, spoke highly of Ulrich\u2019s one-time budding political career, calling him a \u201crising star\u201d who had too much to lose to take bribes.<\/p>\n

Eric Ulrich allegedly accepted money and Mets tickets from co-defendant Michael Mazzio in exchange for Mazzio\u2019s daughter getting a cushy job with the Department of Corrections, prosecutors have said. Steven Hirsch for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cCall him an addicted gambler, call him an alcoholic, call him a foul-mouthed, politically incorrect politician,\u201d the attorney said. But Ulrich\u2019s \u201coffice was never for sale,\u201d his lawyer added. <\/p>\n

\u201cA young man who built a political career from nothing does not throw it away from accepting bribes \u2014 especially from his two friends at the time,\u201d Cohen said.<\/p>\n

Defense attorney James Froccaro, who is representing Mazzio, said his client and Ulrich are just the \u201cbestest friends\u201d who talked about their problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe never bribed or was a plot to bribe his best friend Eric Ulrich to do anything for him or anything,\u201d Froccaro said.<\/p>\n

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg attended opening arguments at Eric Ulrich\u2019s corruption trial Monday. Steven Hirsch for NY Post<\/p>\n

Prosecutors have accused Ulrich of landing Mazzio\u2019s daughter a higher-paying city job in exchange for Mets tickets and cash to cover his gambling losses.<\/p>\n

Ulrich is charged with multiple counts of offering a false instrument for filing and bribery.<\/p>\n

Both defendants have pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n

He is the first of several Adams allies to go to trial.<\/p>\n

Longtime Adams adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin currently has an ongoing criminal case in Manhattan for allegedly taking cash to help real estate developers win city contracts. She has pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n

Frank Carone, a friend and former chief of staff to Adams, is charged federally for allegedly using his City Hall pull to help a Long Island City hotel land a multimillion-dollar shelter contract. Prosecutors have said Carone accepted $120,000 in bribes.<\/p>\n

Ulrich, a diehard Mets fan, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Steven Hirsch for NY Post<\/p>\n

Ulrich was arrested in September 2023 with a total of 16 felonies that spread across five indictments stemming from his time served in three political posts \u2014 including as a Queens councilmember and a stint as a senior advisor to former Mayor Eric Adams.<\/p>\n

He lasted only six months in the buildings commissioner role before he resigned<\/a> following an investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

The bench trial, in front of Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Daniel Conviser, is expected to last six weeks.<\/p>\n

If convicted, Ulrich could face up to 15 years in prison.<\/p>\n

The trial will resume Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ex-New York City Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich was a \u201ccompromised politician\u201d so desperate for cash that he accepted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377282,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[14476,81,128595,4327,57,9,56,63,65,64,4721,58],"class_list":["post-377281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-bribery","tag-eric-adams","tag-eric-ulrich","tag-manhattan-supreme-court","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-trials","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}