New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Jefferson County District Attorney Kristyna S. Mills, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General (HUD OIG), and the New York State Police today announced the arrests of former Executive Director of the West Carthage Housing Authority (WCHA) Jan Hoffman for allegedly stealing over $48,000 in WCHA funds, and Katherine (Katie) Pais, Hoffman’s mother and former WCHA consultant, for allegedly aiding in and concealing the scheme.

The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) needs to do more to properly prepare for severe weather events, according to an audit released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The audit found the LIRR delayed a critical weather-related systemwide risk assessment of its infrastructure for over a decade and failed to complete several resiliency projects on-time following Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

New York State’s Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) has provided financing for over 2,000 essential local water infrastructure projects totaling more than $23.7 billion since 1990, but the estimated capital improvement needs for water and sewer projects far exceeds this amount, and tens of billions of dollars in local projects remain in the pipeline, according to a report by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced Contracts by the Numbers, a new web page with a dashboard that expands the procurement search tools provided in Open Book New York. This new tool lets users perform more robust searches on state agency and public authority contracts, including identifying who has the biggest and most contracts with New York state.

The two principles of Phinaliz Communications LLC, Philip Mtui and Mbaga Kaiza, were indicted for their alleged role in a scheme to steal more than $1 million from Medicaid by filing false and inflated reimbursements for transportation services, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today on behalf of the joint state, local and federal investigating agencies.

A new report by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli highlights the challenges New York’s higher education sector is facing, including a looming enrollment cliff, growing costs of attendance, and rising student debt. The report examines both public and private institutions of higher education.

The New York Daily News today published an op-ed from New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and President and CEO of the Business Council of New York State Heather Briccetti Mulligan.

The full op-ed is below:

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Oneida County District Attorney Todd Carville, and the New York State Police today announced long-time superintendent of the Utica City School District (UCSD), Bruce Karam, pleaded guilty to the felony charge of public corruption for using taxpayer funds to help support a political campaign relating to the 2021 Utica City School Board election and a non-school related fundraiser.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund), today announced various initiatives to address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues at portfolio companies, including filing shareholder proposals at Tesla Inc., Wells Fargo and Co., Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., and United Health Group Inc. DiNapoli’s actions come as corporate DEI initiatives are under attack, and reports that some companies are scaling back DEI efforts.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released the following statement on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) adoption of the Climate Change Disclosure Rule:

“This is a significant victory for investors who are committed to mitigating the real investment risks associated with climate change.

“Today’s action by the SEC will greatly improve the state pension fund's ability to assess and address risks and opportunities as we navigate our path to net zero by 2040.