Security company owner charged with stealing over $100K hired by state government
New York NY April 9 2019 The owner of a security company who is facing grand-larceny charges for allegedly overbilling the city for some $100,000 has been hired by the state despite his ongoing criminal case, The Post has learned.
Abdullateef Sanni, 49, president of First Alert Security Services in Brooklyn, was arrested in September after a Department of Investigation probe revealed he falsely charged the School Construction Authority for security-guard services for at least two years.
Despite being disqualified from work with the city agency, he won a five-year contract on Nov. 30 with the state Office of General Services that allows him to continue providing security services for state government agencies in New York City, an OGS contract shows.
That means state agencies can hire First Alert Security Services as a contractor on an “as needed basis” for security guards, security patrol and K-9 services, according to the OGS and the company’s Web site.
An OGS pricing summary shows Sanni charges between $47.66 and $350 an hour for his services.
When asked why the OGS awarded Sanni the contract despite the criminal case, a spokesperson insisted the work he did that led to criminal charges was with the city, not the state.
“OGS was not aware of the arrest at the time the State contract was executed,” Heather Groll wrote in an e-mail. “OGS has asked the contractor to explain its conduct, and we are awaiting the outcome of the criminal proceedings. If the circumstances warrant it, OGS will terminate the contract.”
However, the contract executed between OGS and First Alert Security Services states “contractor and all security guards are required to complete and comply with all background checks” to be eligible, which includes a criminal history check.
In addition, the contract Sanni won is for “Region 1,” which covers the five boroughs.
When Sanni was allegedly ripping off the SCA, investigators discovered he charged the city $17.41 per hour for each worker but was only paying them between $8 and $13 per hour, allowing him to make off with an extra $100,954, the DOI said.
He also submitted forged documents for hundreds of hours of security work that might not have been completed, the agency said.
“My client pleaded not guilty and I’m not going to have any further comment,” said Sanni’s lawyer, Jared Lefkowitz.
At the time, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said that “kind of criminality will not be tolerated in Queens County.”
NYT
