Local consultant accused of federal crimes resigns from two Buffalo park projects
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — There are some serious questions as to how a local architect, charged by the feds with dozens of instances of stealing taxpayer money, was awarded a contract with the City of Buffalo to redesign parks in North Buffalo and the East Side — paid for with your tax dollars.
News 4 has learned that the firm, associated with the projects, has resigned.
Those city projects are the reconstruction of Shoshone and Trinidad parks.
That architect’s name is Hormoz Mansouri. He lists himself as the president of the EI Team, the lead consultant on the Shoshone and Trinidad park projects. But Mansouri and his companies are facing federal charges.
“Hormoz Mansouri from EI Team, we are the architect and engineer of record for the master plan,” Mansouri said at a community meeting Monday night on the future redevelopment plans for Shoshone Park, a city project.
But Mansouri faces federal charges including wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering. A federal complaint in August 2021 names Mansouri and lists his companies including the EI Team.
He’s accused of making false payroll statements to get $3 million in loans from the federal government’s Paycheck Protection program.
And, nearly half a million in COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans went to Mansouri.
Prosecutors say Mansouri was part of a scheme to defraud financial institutions.
All of this begs the question — why would an architect accused of federal crimes be involved in city projects?
On Tuesday, News 4 called Mansouri’s office at 2060 Sheridan Drive, he said he had no comment and abruptly hung up.
“I became of aware of the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the indictment of the lead consultant for Shoshone Park just recently,” city councilman Rasheed Wyatt said in a statement. “I have been in communication with Department of Public Works Commissioner Nate Marton, I will continue to keep open dialogue with the commissioner and administration as they navigate through this matter and they consult with me and my office on next steps to ensure the community remains part of the ongoing discussions for the future of Shoshone Park.”
City officials say EI Team was awarded a $166,000 contract last year for city work, after a bidding process. Marton says eight firms responded to the RFP which covered multiple park projects. The city hired four of the eight to do the work.
News 4 asked Marton: this company was hired after Mr. Mansouri was indicted and charged in federal court in Western New York for a number of crimes alleged crimes from money laundering to wire fraud how did that not get picked up on your radar?
“We did not have that information in front of us and kind of readily, readily available,” Marton said.
According to the docket on the federal case against Mansouri, he is set to go on trial this summer. If convicted, Mansouri could face a maximum of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Since News 4 alerted city officials about this case, the EI Team has resigned from the project and the city will have to find another consultant.
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Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.
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