City Still Paying Indicted Hotel Owner Weihong Hu

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Despite being under indictment, hotel owner Weihong Hu continues to reap the rewards of a city contract in Fresh Meadows.

Mayor Eric Adams’ administration is paying one of Hu’s companies $542,000 per month to host a nonprofit program at a Queens hotel, The Guardian reported. Hu was indicted last month for allegedly bribing the chief executive officer of a nonprofit.

The Fresh Meadows hotel has housed formerly incarcerated people since 2021 and served as the site for multiple fundraisers to support Adams.

Prosecutors say Hu paid Julio Medina, the head of a taxpayer-funded program for recently released incarcerated people, elaborate kickbacks including the purchase of a $1.3 million townhouse and financing on a luxury vehicle. In exchange, Hu allegedly received more than $20 million in city-funded contracts for two of her hotels, as well as her catering company.

Hu pleaded not guilty to all charges. She is negotiating a plea agreement, according to court filings, though her criminal attorney denies any negotiations.

City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander is pushing for the Adams administration to cancel a contract extension that would ultimately steer $20 million towards Hu, according to The City. The three-year renewal would begin in July.

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office of criminal justice — the contract holder — said the administration is looking for an alternative site, but that it could be challenging; a spokesperson for HousingWorks, the nonprofit occupying the space, said no substantive coordination between the organization and city about relocating has happened.

Security firm owner Christopher Dantzler was also charged in what prosecutors labeled an elaborate kickback scheme involving more than $120 million in public funds being steered toward Exodus. Medina ultimately funneled $51 million in public funds to companies belonging to Hu and Dantzler, according to prosecutors.

Hu was released on a $20 million bond with her passport seized, while Medina and Dantzler were released on $250,000 and $750,000 bonds, respectively. All three defendants pleaded not guilty.

Hu has been on the receiving end of positive regulatory decisions from local officials, including approval of construction projects that were either cited for worker safety or affordable housing violations.

— Holden Walter-Warner