NYC Drops Pay-to-Play Charges Against Ex-Design Firm President
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office in New York City has dropped charges against Henry Chlupsa, former president of city-based D&B Engineers & Architects, Woodbury, N.Y., stemming from a broad construction fraud criminal case ongoing since 2018.
In a May 4 court filing, the D.A.’s office acknowledged it had mishandled evidence against Chlupsa, 77; it also vacated his November conviction on five lesser bribery and corruption charges for which he was sentenced to five years probation and fined $15,000. That latter step is subject to state court approval.
Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Moore Jr. cited new COVID-19 constraints on convening grand juries and other court proceedings as a reason for the dismissal.
Chlupsa, now retired, was among several industry executives and a city official indicted in an alleged decade-long bribery scheme to win contracts.
A state Supreme Court judge in February dismissed bribery charges against former Black & Veatch Associate Vice President Kyriacos Pierides, citing the mishandled evidence.
D&B Engineers & Architects ranks at No. 365 on ENR's list of the Top 500 Design firms, reporting about $42 million in 2019 revenue.
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