Great Neck man accused of bribing NYC building official to fast-track projects

A Great Neck man who owns a Brooklyn construction company is charged with making $65,000 in bribes to a former New York City Building inspector in order to fast-track projects.

Prosecutors charged Jih Yeuan "Mike" Hwang, 50, of Great Neck, with two felony counts of bribery and conspiracy. Jake Udeh, a former supervisor and assistant chief plan examiner for the New York City Development Hub, is charged with taking a total of $75,000 from Hwang's company and two others.

Udeh, 57, of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, was charged with three counts of bribe receiving and three counts of conspiracy involving more than 300 construction projects from 2021 to 2025.

"As alleged, Jake Udeh used his supervisory role at the Department of Buildings to help his co-conspirators leapfrog those abiding by the rules for as little as $500 a project," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. "DOB plays a critical role in ensuring the safety of the more than one million buildings and construction sites in New York City. Together with our partners at the Department of Investigation, we root out fraud that undermines this mission and rewards bad actors."

Hwang, who runs Hwang’s Construction Management Corporation, based in Brooklyn, is charged with paying $65,000 to Udeh, making cash bribes ranging from $500 to $1,000 for each construction project. He’s also accused of paying for flights and hotel rooms to Paraguay and Japan.

A person at the company declined to comment on the charges Monday. Hwang's attorney cold not be reached for comment.

Udeh's attorney, Nathan M. Semmel, said in a statement: "Because the indictments were unsealed today, I am just now learning about the allegations and charges against Mr. Udeh. I look forward to discussing the materials the prosecutor provided in court today with my client and challenging the District Attorney's case. Mr. Udeh is a husband and father of six with an impeccable personal history, including extensive charitable work for children in his native Nigeria. He is highly educated and professionally accomplished. The allegations in the indictment would be a stark contrast."

Two other owners of companies in Brooklyn were charged with conspiracy and bribery.

Prosecutors said in a news release that Udeh "abused his power by reassigning construction approvals to his team, or directly approving projects himself, in exchange for cash and other benefits." Payments were made in person after arranging meetings through text messages to detail major projects and the required payment, the release said.

Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said in a statement that the jobs by Udeh was reported to the city’s Department of Investigation. He called it "a profound betrayal of the public’s trust."

Acting Investigations Commissioner Christopher Ryan said the DOI recommended job sites by Udeh be audited. The building department is in the process of reviewing projects he oversaw and is limiting the transfer of building plan reviews, he said.

"This former Department of Buildings Assistant Chief Plans Examiner was tasked with ensuring that construction plans adhered to building and safety regulations," Rhyan said in a statement. "Instead, as charged, the defendant accepted bribes from these three charged construction industry professionals in exchange for using his supervisory authority to divert plan reviews to his team who he then pressured to fast-track the plans without the required scrutiny."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.