Arrest HA Manager for Pocketing Tenants' Rent

By ARI PAUL

A former Housing Authority Assistant Manager has been arrested for stealing nearly $25,000 in tenants' rent over the course of 2-1/2 years, the Department of Investigation announced April 1.

ROSE GILL HEARN: DOI 'tireless.'

Kyle Toppin, who worked at the Jackson/Morrisania Houses in The Bronx, was accused of stealing rental payments from 32 tenants from January 2005 until May 2007. In the case of 18 tenants who had fallen behind on their rents, Mr. Toppin had instructed them, in violation of HA procedure, to pay rent directly to him in the form of blank money orders, according to DOI.

Faces 7 Years

He was charged with Grand Larceny, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, Defrauding the Government and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, all of which are felonies. He was also charged with Official Misconduct, a misdemeanor offense. Mr. Toppin faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

"This individual may have thought his scheme would go undetected," DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said in a statement. "But DOI investigators tirelessly reviewed the rental transactions this individual worked on at NYCHA and conducted dozens of interviews, putting an end to this corruption."