Former New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich is expected to turn himself in on Wednesday on sealed charges brought in connection to a yearlong probe by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office reportedly linked to several campaign donors for Mayor Eric Adams.
The charges against Ulrich do not implicate Adams or the mayor’s campaign, sources told Politico. Ulrich’s defense attorney Sam Braverman told the New York Daily News he expects Ulrich to surrender at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse sometime Wednesday morning and appear before Judge Daniel Conviser at 2:15 p.m.
‘I truly and honestly have no inside information as to what the charges are. Anybody who says they know are lying unless they are the DA or a grand juror. If I know what the charges are, I would comment,’ Braverman told Politico on Tuesday, adding that ‘it would be rank speculation’ to comment before Ulrich turns himself in.
Ulrich was charged through a sealed indictment over the summer, the New York Times first reported.
The indictment reportedly names at least four other individuals in connection to the same investigation, including brothers Joseph and Anthony Livreri, who own two Queens pizza shops and co-hosted an August 2021 fundraiser for Adams’ mayoral campaign, according to Politico.
News outlet The City first reported that the indictment also names Mark Caller, a real estate developer and another mayoral campaign donor for Adams who hosted a separate, lucrative August 2021 fundraiser for the mayor’s campaign.
In a separate case, Bragg’s office announced in July that six of Adams’ former campaign donors, including NYPD retired deputy inspector Dwayne Montgomery, were charged in an alleged straw donor scheme to direct tens of thousands of dollars in illicit contributions to the mayor’s campaign.
Bragg is scheduled to hold a press conference Wednesday afternoon with New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber in connection to Ulrich’s case, the Daily News reported.
Ulrich resigned as the buildings commissioner last November after Bragg’s office seized his phone. He previously served on New York City Council as a Republican before switching to the Democrat Party to support Adams’ mayoral run.