Former Hempstead Village Housing Authority Executive Director Stacey Stackhouse sentenced to one of probation in kickback scheme

A decade-old Hempstead Village corruption case moved closer to its conclusion Wednesday as one of six defendants convicted in an $800,000 kickback scheme was sentenced in federal court nearly eight years after admitting her guilt.

Former Hempstead Village Housing Authority Executive Director Stacey Stackhouse, of Dobbs Ferry, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Joan Azrack to one year of probation four years after she helped prosecutors convict a former colleague they say played the larger role in the scheme.

Stackhouse had pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge in November 2015, admitting to receiving a $4,500 kickback as part of a scheme orchestrated by housing authority chairman Cornell Bozier, who was convicted by a jury in April 2019.

“It is my view that this conduct was an aberration,” said Azrack, who described Stackhouse as a “hardworking, well-qualified” public official who “took a wrong turn.”

Azrack, who called the scheme a “significant corruption case,” also ordered Stackhouse to pay $4,500 in restitution.

Assistant United States Attorney Artie McConnell described Stackhouse’s role as minimal and said she was “disconnected from the larger scheme” led by Bozier, who is still awaiting sentencing.

Stackhouse described her legal troubles, which began when she was fired from her $130,000-per-year job after federal authorities started their investigation in 2013, as a “learning process.” She was indicted in 2015.

“I sincerely apologize for my personal involvement and for allowing this to happen,” Stackhouse told Azrack.

Stackhouse’s original sentencing date was adjourned at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and had been delayed several more times since.

At trial, Stackhouse and other witnesses said Bozier, who served as chairman from 2011 to 2013, steered projects on low-income properties to hand-picked contractors and shell companies, received kickbacks and bypassed the HUD competitive bid process. He personally pocketed $100,000 in bribes in the three years he led the scheme, prosecutors have said.

Prosecutors and witnesses said at trial that Bozier also bought housing authority votes, including by paying some village board members' rent.

Bozier hired a construction consultant, Peter Caras, of Hauppauge, who identified projects for emergency repairs and solicited bids from co-conspirator James Alimonos, of Bethpage, officials have said. Alimonos was described by prosecutors as the “mastermind” of the scheme before the indictment of Bozier in 2016.

In one case, the trio determined the cost to fix a Totten Avenue intercom system and padded it by $50,000, which they would later divide among themselves, prosecutors said.

Bozier was also indicted in connection with a piping project at the Gladys Avenue apartments and a $250,000 bid on a Yale Street roofing project that actually cost $23,000 to complete.

Bozier was appointed to the board by then-Mayor Wayne Hall to oversee the housing authority, which serves about 500 residents and has a budget of more than $6 million. 

Bozier was convicted of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and three counts of bribery and could face up to 20 years in prison.

Bozier’s sentencing, which has been delayed due to his own health problems, is currently scheduled for June 15.

Caras and Alimonos pleaded guilty to honest services fraud and testified against Bozier at trial. Alimonos is scheduled to be sentenced May 4 with Caras learning his fate June 1. Both men face up to 20 years in prison, prosecutors have said.

Michael Lambros, of Jamaica, Queens, a contractor who also pleaded guilty to honest services fraud, will be sentenced May 31.

Contractor Demetrios Kaouris, of Plainview, was the only member of the scheme sentenced in advance of Bozier’s trial, having served one year of probation in 2017 after he admitted adding an illegal consulting fee for Alimonos in an estimate for work on one of the HUD projects.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.