NY Contractor Attempted to Bribe City Official to Get Paid Faster

Abdulkader Kassem Elchoum, owner of AMA Construction/NY Inc. has been accused of trying to bribe a city official in order to get paid faster for his work on a Brooklyn public school. Elchoum is facing six counts of third-degree bribery and could face seven years in prison if convicted.

Elchoum allegedly offered the School Construction Authority official monitoring his work a $2,000 bribe to "expedite" a payment of $163,000 for his work. An investigation unveiled that Elchoum paid the project officer a total of $3,500 on five separate occasions over two months to speed up his contract payments and minimize scrutiny of his company's work.

(more on the indictment over the bribery scandal...)