NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A New York City contractor who oversaw sewer and water line repairs for homeowners admitted Friday to taking bribes worth over half a million dollars, according to federal prosecutors.
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George Djurasevic pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court to accepting bribes while managing plumbers for a company that contracted with the New York City Water Board.
The Daily News reported that multiple lawsuits, which name Djurasevic as a defendant, identify the business as The American Water Company corporation.
Prosecutors said that the company received a multi-million dollar contract from the NYCWB to sell warranties to homeowners in Staten Island, Queens and Brooklyn covering water and sewer repairs.
The 54-year-old accepted roughly $500,000 in bribes from a subcontractor over a five-year period in return for, among other things, allowing the subcontractor to overbill for work completed or to forego performing certain repairs to the homeowners' sewer and water pipes.
He also accepted bribe money to review the subcontractor's determination of whether repairs were covered by the warranty, court documents show.
In addition, Djurasevic failed to report his true income to the IRS, which resulted in his failure to pay more than $114,000 in taxes. As a result, he also pleaded guilty Friday to tax evasion.
"Motivated by greed, Djurasevic flushed away his integrity, accepting bribes and leaving New Yorkers to pay the bill, including when home repairs were not even completed," said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace. "That the process of overseeing city contracts on warranties for costly repairs was corrupted is a betrayal to New York homeowners."
Djurasevic now faces 10 years in prison.
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