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CORRUPTION
AWARENESS AND REPORTING GUIDELINES
Listed below
are crimes, and their elements, that you as a City employee should be familiar
with.
What
is a Bribe?(NYS Penal Law)
A public
servant is guilty of bribe receiving when he/she solicits, accepts or agrees
to accept any benefit from another person upon an agreement or understanding
that his/her vote, opinion, judgment, action, decision or exercise of discretion
as a public servant will thereby be influenced.
Bribery includes
any offer of a benefit to a public servant on the understanding that the public
servant's official action will be influenced. City employees are public servants.
Some examples
of bribery and bribe receiving situations include:
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A City
employee, whose job it is to conduct inspections of a contractor's work,
offers to refrain from reporting unsatisfactory work on a building in exchange
for money or some other thing of value (e.g., supplies; free or discounted
work on the employee's house; jewelry; a car; a trip; lunch).
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A contractor
offers to pay a City employee a percentage of each contract or open market
order the contractor receives from the City in exchange for being guaranteed
future contracts.
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An inspector
agrees to allow a firm to dump hazardous waste into a City river in exchange
for a cash payment.
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Recognizing a Bribe Offer
The offering, giving,
solicitation or acceptance of a bribe or gratuity, to or by an official of the
City of New York - and this means you - is a violation of the New York State
Penal Law and other applicable federal statutes. It is important to note that
an item of value does not have to exchange hands for the crime to have been
committed. The mere offer to solicit the bribe or
gratuity is a criminal activity.
Why Should You Report a Bribe Attempt?
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You may
feel that it is too much trouble to report a bribe offer. Remember, you
are mandated by law to report bribe offers, as well as other corrupt
activity, and are subject to dismissal or disciplinary action for failing
to do so.
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The
person making the offer may already be under investigation or may be
taking part in an undercover operation - failure to report the offer may
be considered as evidence against you in a later criminal prosecution.
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If you
fail to report the offer, the briber may continue to make such offers in
the future, and ultimately you may succumb to the temptation.
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If a
person who offered you a bribe, or offered another public servant a bribe
in your presence is later prosecuted, this person may implicate you in an
attempt to help himself in his criminal case. If you had reported the
bribe offer, you might have avoided making yourself the subject of a later
criminal investigation.
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More
importantly, each of us should take the responsibility to protect each
other against those that would corrupt the systems and contribute to
hazardous conditions which ultimately have a negative affect on us all.
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What
is a Gratuity? (NYS Penal Law)
A public servant is guilty
of receiving unlawful gratuities when he solicits, accepts or agrees to accept
any benefit for having engaged in official conduct which he was required or
authorized to perform, and for which he was not entitled to any special or
additional compensation.
A gratuity is any unauthorized
payment or other benefit, even a "tip" or lunch money, beyond the salary and
official benefits paid by the City, to public servants for doing anything
in connection with their job.
It may solely be a reward
to an employee in appreciation for performing his work. Often the payment
of gratuities precedes more elaborate bribery schemes. Gratuities are frequently
given to gain the confidence of the target of a bribe.
Some examples of unlawful
gratuities include:
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A tax
payer takes an auditor out to dinner or gives the auditor money during the
holidays to thank the auditor for his/her work.
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A vendor
gives a City employee a discount on the purchase of supplies after the employee
purchases items for use at City-owned properties and facilities.
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An Inspector
who inspected a particular landlord's buildings receives from the landlord
the free use of an unoccupied apartment.
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What
is Official Misconduct? (NYS Penal Law)
A public servant is guilty
of official misconduct when he/she intends to obtain a benefit or to injure
or deprive another person of a benefit and knowingly commits an unauthorized
act relating to his official functions, or knowingly refrains from performing
a duty that is clearly mandated by law or by his job.
Some examples of official
misconduct include:
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An inspector
falsely reports that a restaurant is in violation of the Health Code because
of an argument with the restaurant owner.
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An inspector
fails to report a violation in the hope that the restaurant owner will give
him money or hire him to work there.
Eight Things That Every
New York City Employee Should Know About The Conflicts Of Interest (COIB)
La:
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City
Resources: You can NOT use City resources, including time, staff, equipment,
or letterhead, for any non-City purpose.
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Gifts,
Tips, and Gratuities: You can NOT accept a valuable gift from any City
vendor, or accept anything of value from any non-City source for performing
your City job.
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Moonlighting:
You need agency and Board approval to have a second job with a firm doing
business with the City.
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Coercion
Protection: You can NOT enter into any sort of private financial relationship
with a superior or subordinate.
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Political
Activities: You can NOT ask a subordinate to work on a political campaign
or make a political contribution.
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Job
Hunting: You can NOT discuss possible future employment with a firm
you are currently dealing with in your City job.
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Volunteer
Work: You can NOT take part in a not-for-profit organization's business
dealings with any City agency.
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Post
- Employment: After you leave City government, you can NOT appear before
your former City agency on behalf of a private firm for one year after you
leave the agency. If you were personally and substantially involved in a
particular matter on behalf of the City, you can never work on that matter
in the private sector.
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PENALTIES:
include fines of up to $10,000 per violation, and suspension or removal from
office. In addition, the District Attorney can bring criminal charges for
certain conflicts of interest violations.
Some examples of conflicts
of interest include:
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An inspector
takes a part-time job outside of his City working hours to work in a supermarket
he regularly inspects for the City;
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A City
employee uses the contacts he has in his agency to quickly obtain a permit
for his brother, without going through the proper screening procedures;
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An inspector
has a 10% interest in a waste disposal firm whose facilities he inspects
for the City;
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In addition,
the City Charter and most City agencies have separate requirements for obtaining
approval for outside employment even when the outside job may not be a conflict
of interest. You should contact the General Counsel of your agency regarding
these requirements.
If you have any questions
about a conflicts of interest matter, contact the Conflicts of Interest Board
for information and advice at (212) 442 - 1400.
Corruption
Reporting Procedures
If you have any grounds
to suspect that anyone is involved in any corrupt, criminal or otherwise inappropriate
behavior, you must do the following:
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Immediately
notify the Inspector General designated for your agency; and
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Keep
the incident confidential - do not discuss it with anyone other than Inspector
General's representatives.
The Inspector General
will conduct an independent investigation based on your report and will ensure
that criminal and/or administrative action is taken against the offenders,
where appropriate.
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The
City's Anti-Corruption Efforts
Corruption scandals have
resulted in greater efforts by the City to detect, prevent and punish such
activity. This can most clearly be seen by the following:
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The
staff, record-keeping facilities and surveillance equipment of the Department
of Investigation and its Inspector General offices have been greatly expanded.
City employees face the certainty of coming into periodic contact with these
people, via undercover operations or double-checks and audits on individual's
work.
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The Field
Associate Program will provide volunteers who will be trained to identify
and systematically report to the Inspectors General any corrupt or criminal
activity they may come across. The information they provide will be used
as a basis for the Inspector General to conduct an independent investigation.
If you have more questions about this program, or are interested in participating,
contact your agency's IG whose telephone number is listed on this handout.
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The most
severe penalties possible, including criminal prosecution, will be pursued
against anyone involved in corruption.
Risks
The risks everyone faces
in not reporting and/or in participating in corruption far outweigh any monetary
financial gains obtained. These risks include:
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Arrest
and criminal prosecution
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Time
in jail
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Substantial
fines
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Loss of your job
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Loss
of your pension
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Loss
of status in your profession and community
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And,
personal anguish to you, your family and friends.
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HOW
DO I REPORT CORRUPTION TO DOI?
During office hours someone
is always available to handle complaints and allegations. Reports of corruption
can be made by telephone (212/825-5959), by fax (212/825-2504), online
through the Internet at (https://a032-secure.nyc.gov/ofcomplaint.html),
by writing a letter or in person to NYC Department of Investigation (Address:
80 Maiden Lane, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10038).
Some things to remember
when filing your report:
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Although
anonymous complaints are accepted, it is helpful if a person does provide
a name and call back number in case follow-up questions are necessary.
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DOI
does everything possible to protect the complainant's request for confidentiality.
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We encourage
employees to report even the suspicion of wrongdoing. It is the Inspector General's job
to evaluate the information - you need not become an investigator. The sooner
DOI is told of an allegation, the better. Delays in reporting can hinder
an investigation.
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You should
not discuss DOI matters with anyone - especially if you have requested confidential
status from us.
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Reporting
an allegation to an agency's Disciplinary Unit or Advocates Office, which
also handle allegations of corruption and misconduct, is not the same as
reporting an allegation to DOI. DOI is a separate and independent agency
from the agency for which you may work. DOI personnel usually investigate complaints
alleging criminal conduct completely independent from the respective agency
involved and DOI does not report to the commissioners of the agencies where
you are employed.
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