Ex-Prosecutor Picked As NYC's Public Housing Overseer: Reports

NEW YORK — Federal officials have picked a former prosecutor with ties to Rudy Giuliani and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to oversee New York City's beleaguered housing authority, news reports say. Bart M. Schwartz, the chairman of the consulting firm Guidepost Solutions, will reportedly serve as a federal monitor for the New York City Housing Authority under a landmark oversight deal announced last month.

Schwartz oversaw fraud and organized crime prosecutions under Giuliani — who's now a lawyer for President Donald Trump — when he was the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, before his two terms as mayor. More recently, Cuomo picked Schwartz in 2016 to investigate his Buffalo Billion economic development initiative for wrongdoing.

As NYCHA's monitor, Schwartz will track the housing authority's progress toward the strict benchmarks for addressing problems with lead paint, heat failures, elevator breakdowns, mold and pest infestations also outlined in the Jan. 31 agreement with federal authorities.

Schwartz was selected by U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, according to The City. He is likely to be named to the job "in the coming days," Politico New York reported.

HUD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Schwartz has past experience serving as a monitor for the feds, according to his biography.

He was picked to make sure General Motors complied with a deal related to its recall of faulty ignition switches. And he was tapped in 2010 to monitor an agreement with Deutsche Bank AG regarding fradulent tax shelters.