NYC Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich Under Investigation for Mob Gambling Ties
Edited by: TJVNews.com
In yet another possible scandal from inside New York City Mayor Eric Adams administration, it has been reported a gambling investigation has been conducted on the city’s building commissioner. The New York Post reported that the head of the Department of Buildings Eric Ulrich might possibly be racking up gambling debts during high stakes card games with associates from the mob.
On Tuesday, sources close to law enforcement told the Post that the probe on Ulrich also includes the possibility that he may be working to use his position to pay back the monies that he owes.
Sources told the paper that while Ulrich, 37, has not been criminally charged, he was served a search warrant by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office outside his home in Queens in the morning. Investigators seized Ulrich’s cell phone during the search, sources said.
Ulrich, a former city councilman from Queens, was approached near his Rockaway Park home prior to the warrant being served. Ulrich, a Republican, served on the city council from 2009 until he was term-limited out at the end of 2021. He served as a member of the Committee on Housing and Buildings and ran unsuccessfully for public advocate in 2019.
Disclosures indicate that while serving as a councilman Ulrich reported gambling winnings on his city ethics disclosures of between $5,000 and $47,999 in 2016 and 2017, the Post reported. He reported the same range in winnings from the New York State Lottery for each of 2018, 2019 and 2020.
In 2018, when Ulrich was serving in the City Council, court records show that he penned a letter on official stationery in support of a constituent, a reputed Bonanno crime associate who was awaiting sentencing on federal charges for collection of an unlawful gambling debt, the New York Times reported. It is unclear if the letter is a focus of the investigation.
The New York Times reported that the focus and scope of the investigation by the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, was not immediately clear, though one of the people said it concerned conduct that predated Ulrich’s service in the Adams administration.
Ulrich, who served as a special adviser to Mayor Adams prior to the mayor appointing him to the buildings post in May, has not been accused of any wrongdoing, the Times reported and at this juncture it remains unclear whether the criminal investigation is also focused on other people.
Sources also told the Post that the probe has been ongoing for the last year or so, though Ulrich was not the initial target. The investigation at first focused on organized crime, sources said.
Sources told the Post that the focus of the investigation is on gambling that Ulrich allegedly participated in Ozone Park, Queens. This allegedly took place before he joined the Adams’ administration this year.
The Times reported that John Kaehny, the executive director of Reinvent Albany, a good-government group, said that Adams should move swiftly to decide whether Ulrich can continue in his role or be forced to take a hiatus while the matter is resolved.
“This administration has over-fulfilled the conflict of interest and ethical problem quota many times over already,” Kaehny said, according to the Times report. “The cumulative stories about issues and problems with people who are supposed to be doing the public’s business does undermine public confidence in the Adams administration.”
On social media last year Ulrich said that he was battling alcoholism, as was reported by the Times. He said that he discovered he had a problem during the Covid pandemic.
“I regret to say that I developed a drinking problem. What used to be mainly a social activity, and a way to cope with stress, has now become too frequent and self-destructive,” Ulrich wrote on Facebook. “After talking about this with my family and friends, I have decided to finally quit and get sober.”