Q&A
Council member inquires about executive compensation and conflict of interest in shelter providers
1:24:22
·
71 sec
Council Member Julie Won initiates a discussion on executive compensation and conflicts of interest in shelter providers. She highlights the case of Victor Rivera, former CEO of Bronx Parent Housing Network, who made $274,000 while misusing city funds and facing sexual harassment accusations.
- Won questions the effectiveness of current self-reporting disclosure forms for conflicts of interest
- She asks about specific additions made to disclosure forms and the use of LexisNexis for vetting
- Won expresses concern about gaps that allowed such issues to go undetected for years
Julie Won
1:24:22
Thank you so much.
1:24:23
I think there's a clear pattern of questioning here about about our executive compensation, as well as conflict of interest.
1:24:34
So I wanna go back to the conflict of interest.
1:24:37
For example, Victor Rivera, former CEO of Bronx Parent Housing Network, he made a quarter of a $1,000,000,000, 274,000,000 to be exact, in which he was also arrested.
1:24:50
He was arrested after the investigation, but in addition to misuse of city funds, he was accused for sexual harassment from 10 women, including homeless women, as well as employ his own employees, and he enriched himself through the nonprofit.
1:25:06
So it's clear that currently, the self the self reporting of the disclosure forms, conflict disclosure forms are not working.
1:25:16
So can you help us understand specifically what you've added to the disclosure forms?
1:25:20
And you talked a little bit about Lexus Nexus.
1:25:22
I think that's a great step.
1:25:23
Was that already being done?
1:25:25
What what happened in cases like this where there were a lot of gaps where people were just going through unscathed for so many years?
1:25:32
Yeah.
Molly Wasow Park
1:25:32
The Bronx parent case is a horrific one, and my heart goes out to all of the people who both the clients and the staff who are affected by that.
