East Harlem NYCHA Supervisor Stole Kitchen Appliances: City

EAST HARLEM, NY — An East Harlem public housing supervisor used her position to steal more than $1,300 in kitchen appliances from residents and deck out her own apartment, the city Department of Investigation announced this week.

Eva Torres, 42,was arrested Thursday and charged with stealing kitchen cabinets, a refrigerator and a sink from the Wagner Houses development where she worked as a supervisor of housing caretakers, city officials said. Torres now faces felony and misdemeanor counts for possessing stolen property.

"Torres’ alleged scheme didn’t just rip off NYCHA, but also the thousands of residents who rely on the agency for housing" Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement. "While greed may not be a crime, funneling goods and products meant for the truly needy is."

The Department of Investigation searched Torres' Queens home after receiving a tip in September and finding a photo of Torres in her newly renovated kitchen, fitted with cabinets used to furnish NYCHA homes and not made for private sale, city officials said.

The eight cabinets, fridge and sink that Torres stole are valued at $1,355, city officials said.

"This NYCHA supervisor misused her position to give her personal kitchen a makeover, realizing the renovation with stolen equipment and an appliance from NYCHA and denying residents what was rightfully theirs, according to the charges," DOI Commissioner Margaret Garnett said in a statement.

Torres resigned her position at NYCHA on Friday, a department spokesperson said.

"She does not represent the honest, hardworking, and decent employees of NYCHA," a spokesperson for the housing authority said in a statement.

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