The MTA’s former chief procurement officer was busted for allegedly ordering tens of thousands of dollars in iPhones purportedly for the transit agency and instead selling them on the black market.
Manhattan prosecutors say Angel Barbosa, 48, told a subordinate to order 63 iPhones totaling $58,153.57 in 2016 and had the devices shipped directly to his office.
He allegedly handed them off to an associate to sell, officials said.
“The investigation revealed that most of the 63 iPhones were activated in other countries, including Columbia, India, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Jamaica and Argentina,” said ADA Emily Farber at Barbosa’s arraignment Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court.
He was also hit with charges for allegedly forging employment documents to score a higher salary at the MTA when he was hired in 2013.
The greedy public servant, who raked in $194,000 a year, before the agency axed him, allegedly falsified earning statements to make it look like New York University, his previous employer, paid him more.
As result, that the MTA paid him about $30,000 more than they would have otherwise, Farber said. He allegedly orchestrated a similar fraud to get his girlfriend an MTA job at higher pay, even doctoring her earning statements for her, prosecutors charge.
Barbosa, his hands cuffed behind his back, pleaded not guilty to charges of grand larceny, attempted grand larceny, criminal possession of a forged instrument and offering a false instrument for filing.
Justice Cassandra Mullens ordered him released on $40,000 bail.
“We look forward to reviewing the evidence provided by the prosecution as we move the matter forward to a proper conclusion,” said defense lawyer Jeremy Saland.
The Post reported in March that Barbosa had been fired amid a probe into an alleged bribery scheme in which he sought favors from accounting giant KPMG in exchange for helping the firm score transit-agency contracts.
That investigation uncovered the alleged crimes in the two indictments unsealed Thursday, which was the result of a joint investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the MTA Inspector General’s Office.
“The public has every right to demand that those entrusted with public money respect that trust and perform their duties with honesty and integrity,” said MTA Inspector General Barry Kluger in statement.
“Those who violate that trust deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent, as evidenced by the indictments unsealed today,” he added.
Source: Read Full Article