Housing Authority official charged in extortion plot
Federal probe targets work by contractor
An administrator for Buffalo’s housing agency, described by an accuser as a bully who relished the power and control of his job, faces federal charges of extortion, bribery and witness tampering.
John J. Fischer Jr., the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority’s administrator of capital improvements, could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of coercing a contractor who did work for the agency to perform free roofing work at the home of a friend. Investigators believe Fisher was going to inflate the expenses of a Housing Authority job to pay for it.
“[Fischer] was definitely going to make taxpayers pay for all of this,” said U. S. Attorney Terrance P. Flynn.
Fischer, a father of four who lives in North Buffalo, has served in numerous capacities at the Housing Authority over two decades. Agency officials said he was appointed to his current $61,918-a-year post less than a year ago. Authority General Counsel Paul W. Wolf said Fischer will be suspended without pay pending an internal hearing.
U. S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr. entered a not-guilty plea on Fischer’s behalf Thursday, then released him on a $10,000 signature bond. He warned the defendant not to travel outside Western New York without getting permission, and he cautioned him not to have contact with potential witnesses. Fischer is due back in court Tuesday after Schroeder gave him time to hire an attorney.
The FBI probe alleges that Fischer pressured Michael K. Hayes, the owner of MKH Construction, to do roof work at the Sanborn home of the administrator’s friend. Investigators said Hayes contacted federal authorities.
The investigation focused on Fischer, but authorities would follow up on any other allegations of improprieties at the Housing Authority, Flynn said.
“We looked at one individual here, but if any other information comes to us as a result of this investigation, we’d pursue that, too,” Flynn said.
Flynn said MKH Construction counts on the Housing Authority for “about 85 percent” of its business.
“Mr. Hayes came forward and told the FBI that [Fischer] had asked him to do some roofing work on the home of a woman friend in Sanborn, in Niagara County,” Flynn said. “Fischer told him he would authorize some kind of a change order on one of Hayes’ jobs with the Housing Authority to pay for the work to the woman’s house.”
The roofing work cost about $3,500.
In February, Fischer learned he was the target of an FBI investigation, and FBI agents told him not to contact any witnesses in the investigation, specifically Hayes, Flynn said.
“Fischer is charged with witness-tampering because he contacted Hayes, despite being told not to,“ Flynn said. “Fischer was telling Hayes they would work out some other way to pay for the woman’s roofing job.”
In light of his cooperation in the case, Hayes will not be charged, Flynn said.
Hayes was “scared, frustrated and nervous” when he contacted the FBI, the prosecutor said.
“He didn’t want to lose his business with the Housing Authority, and, at the same time, he didn’t want to be shaken down,” Flynn said.
If Hayes was targeted by Fischer for extortion, do authorities believe it is possible that other Housing Authority contractors were victimized in the same way?
“That is a legitimate question,” Flynn said. He declined to comment further except to say the investigation is continuing.
Hayes agreed to let investigators monitor a phone conversation he had with Fischer and also agreed to record a conversation the two men had during a meeting.
The 16-page criminal complaint included transcripts of a taped phone conversation and meeting between Fischer and Hayes. In one exchange, Fischer said that if he’s brought up on criminal charges, “I’m gonna take down as many [expletive] with me, it won’t be pretty.”
Mayor Byron W. Brown said his administration and the Housing Authority will fully cooperate with federal investigators. Brown was in Washington, D. C., on Thursday, but his office issued a written statement.
“I think the arrest of this 20-year [Housing Authority] employee speaks very powerfully that this type of behavior cannot be tolerated where people working in places of the public trust are breaking the law,“ said Brown.
Wolf said Fischer was arrested Thursday by FBI agents in the parking lot of the authority’s headquarters.
“We’re shocked,” Wolf said. “We’re not fully aware of what has occurred, and we’re just as interested as everyone else to find out.”
Some co-workers said Fischer appeared to be a conscientious administrator who was detail-oriented. His current job was a civil service position. When his predecessor left last year, officials said, Fischer was appointed because he was the next person on the civil service list.
bmeyer@buffnews.com and dherbeck@buffnews.com
