Two Queens pizzeria owners with organized crime ties have pleaded guilty to bribing a top official in former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.
Joseph and Anthony Livreri, the brothers behind Aldo’s Pizzeria and Restaurant in Ozone Park, admitted in Manhattan Supreme Court last week to conspiracy and bribery charges for funneling $4,000 to Eric Ulrich, 37, Adams’ former senior advisor and Department of Buildings commissioner, in 2022. The plea deal does not require them to cooperate against Ulrich if called to testify at his upcoming trial.
The brothers sought multiple favors in exchange for the cash, according to prosecutors. They wanted Ulrich to halt the DOB from vacating them from Fortunato Brothers Bakery in Williamsburg after a fire shut it down. They also pressed him to fast-track health inspections at their own pizza shop once it reopened following multiple health violations. Additionally, the pair tried to clear licensing hurdles for codefendant Michael Mazzio that would let him tow vehicles on city highways during snowstorms.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg tied their scheme to broader corruption in a statement.
“In exchange for the bribes they sent to city officials, the defendants sought jobs for themselves and family members and expedited inspections at businesses with health and building code violations,” Bragg said.
Nadia Shihata, chief of the city’s Department of Investigations, expanded on the scope of benefits the brothers pursued.
“These two defendants used bribery to gain an array of City benefits, including expedited inspections at commercial businesses, access to senior members of Mayor Adams’ administration, and securing a City position for the daughter of another defendant in this case,” she said.
Shihata condemned the conduct outright.
“Bribery and corruption have no place in New York City government. I thank the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for its partnership on this significant investigation and for working with DOI to root out corruption in City government,” she added.
The Livreris’ connections to Adams run deeper than the Ulrich bribes. The brothers donated to Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign and hosted a high-dollar fundraiser at Russo’s On The Bay in Howard Beach that August. Charging documents show Joseph and Anthony Livreri met with Adams in person at Aldo’s Pizzeria just ten days before the former mayor took office in January 2022.
Ulrich allegedly spent the bribe money at an illegal gambling club partially owned by Joseph Livreri, who had previously been hired by then-Councilman Ulrich as an advisor. Ulrich has pleaded not guilty to corruption charges across five separate indictments accusing him of abusing power at every public position he held. He has acknowledged gambling and alcohol addiction but denies taking bribes.
Joseph Livreri faces up to six months in jail plus five years of probation. Anthony Livreri faces five years of probation. Both brothers are expected to be sentenced in December.
The case against the Livreris emerged from a September 2023 indictment that detailed their efforts to use cash and connections to bypass city regulations. Their guilty pleas mark a rare admission in a sprawling corruption probe that has ensnared multiple figures in Adams’ orbit, though federal prosecutors abruptly dropped their own corruption case against Adams last year.