Housing Staffer Fired in Rent Roll Sales

State Inspector General Joseph Fisch today released a Public Report on state Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) employee Keith James.

James, 53, a Rent Program Specialist who earned $62,000 a year, was fired on August 26 after his arrest for selling confidential rent roll information to developers. An indictment in Brooklyn Supreme Court accuses him of bribe receiving in the third degree, receiving reward for official misconduct in the second degree and computer trespass.

James had access to confidential rent roll information, including monthly rents and classifications of apartments as rent-controlled or rent-stabilized. He is accused of taking the bribes from 2001 to 2005.

The Inspector General’s office conducted its investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York State Attorney General.

###