Joel B. Pollak 10 Feb 2025
Two former disaster recovery experts at Hagerty Consulting, which L.A. Mayor Karen Bass appointed to lead rebuilding efforts after the recent wildfires, pleaded guilty in 2022 and 2023 to defrauding New York City of Hurricane Sandy relief funds.
Walter Melnick, who had been hired as a contractor for Evanston, Illinois-based Hagerty Consulting firm, was accused in 2022 of having claimed lodging reimbursements to which he was not entitled, and of making false statements to investigators.
Melnick was described in a press release by another firm as having “managed New York City’s post-Sandy $15 billion recovery program” while at Hagerty. He has since evidently retired from the industry.
Another then-Hagerty consultant, Mark O’Mara, was accused of claiming more than $250,000 in reimbursements to which he was not entitled, and of trying to destroy evidence.
Both pleaded guilty after reaching plea agreements.
Melnick was sentenced to a year of home confinement, plus two additional years of probation. O’Mara was sentenced to probation. Both had to pay back the total money they had received unlawfully (over $380,000 and over $250,000, respectively).
A press statement by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in 2022 described the charges against Melnick:
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/02/10/former-lead-recovery-consultants-at-hagerty-firm-hired-by-bass-pleaded-guilty-to-stealing-disaster-funds/
