A state Supreme Court judge on Friday dismissed bribery and other charges against Marcal Group’s Mark Caller, throwing out one of five indictments accusing former Department of Buildings’ Commissioner Eric Ulrich of using position in exchange for various perks.
Judge Daniel Conviser granted a motion to dismiss the indictment against Caller and Ulrich, but declined to dismiss the remaining four bribery cases against Ulrich and other defendants.
The 2023 indictment accused Caller of selling Ulrich a discounted apartment at his company’s 133 Beach 116th Street, in exchange for help on a zoning change Marcal Group needed and expediting inspections at one of his buildings.
The judge cites three key reasons for dismissing the Caller case.
One is that the grand jury wasn’t presented with an “accurate picture” of Ulrich and Caller’s relationship, the decision states. Ulrich provided lawful assistance to Caller for a number of years, starting when Ulrich was a City Council member. If the grand jury knew this, the decision argues, it would have had to “draw the implausible conclusion that, after getting benefits from Ulrich for multiple years, Caller then decided to bribe Ulrich to get the same benefits.”
Secondly, the decision argues that it isn’t clear that Ulrich received a better deal on the apartment than what Caller offered others. And finally, the indictment alleged that bribery took place between December 17, 2021, and March 18, 2022, even though conversations between Caller and Ulrich about the apartment didn’t begin until March 19, 2022, the decision states.
The reasons echo arguments made by Caller’s attorney Ben Brafman, who filed a motion to dismiss the indictment last year. At the time, Brafman argued that Ulrich had “been legally helping Caller for years on his projects without any benefit, payment or remuneration.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said prosecutors “respect” the decision and “will proceed with the four remaining indictments.”
Ulrich was hit with five indictments in 2023, accusing him of accepting more than $150,000 in bribes, which took the form of a painting by an apprentice of Salvador Dalí, Mets season tickets, a custom suit and cash for gambling.
Mayor Eric Adams tapped Ulrich, formerly one of the few Republican City Council members, as his DOB commissioner in May 2022. Ulrich resigned six months later after investigators questioned him as part of a probe into illegal gambling. Ulrich has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
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