Founded in 1873 (as the Office of the Commissioner of Accounts) as a result of the Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall scandals, the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”) investigates City employees, those doing or seeking to do business with the City, as well as members of the public who engage in corrupt, fraudulent or unethical activities involving the City. We are one of the oldest law-enforcement agencies in the country and a leader in the effort to combat corruption in public institutions. DOI serves the Mayor and the people of New York City by acting as an independent and nonpartisan watchdog for City government.

Our staff consists of attorneys, investigators, forensic auditors, computer forensic specialists and administrative personnel.

Charged with oversight of a City workforce of more than 300,000, DOI's major functions include investigating and referring for criminal prosecution cases of fraud, corruption and unethical conduct by City employees, contractors and others who receive City money. We are also charged with studying agency procedures to identify corruption hazards and recommending improvements in order to reduce the City's vulnerability to fraud, waste and corruption. In addition, DOI investigates the backgrounds of persons selected to work in decision-making or sensitive City jobs, and conducts checks on those who are awarded contracts with the City to determine if they are suited to serve the public trust.

In a time of diminishing resources, we continue to find new and effective ways to address the problems challenging the City. We identify and fix potential corruption hazards before they develop into criminal prosecutions and ensure the City recovers funds lost through the corruption it uncovers. DOI has made recovering stolen City funds and protecting the City’s finances a priority, pursuing criminal and civil forfeiture, restitution and other types of financial recovery. DOI works closely with the various prosecutorial agencies in order to maximize the City’s financial recoveries. As a result of those efforts, since fiscal year 2003, as a result of DOI cases, more than $61.8 million in restitution, forfeiture and fines has been ordered to be repaid to the City.