It wasn’t just paperwork moving faster than usual in East Hampton. Prosecutors say cash was changing hands behind the scenes.
Two Town of East Hampton employees are now accused of running a pay-to-play system inside the building department, where contractors who paid up allegedly jumped the line while others waited months.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced that Evelyn Calderon, 46, of Mastic, and Ryan Benitez, 37, of East Hampton, were indicted for allegedly accepting cash bribes in exchange for speeding up building permits and certificates of occupancy.
According to investigators, the process was straightforward and fast. Contractors who allegedly paid cash would see their applications prioritized almost immediately. Permits that normally took months were allegedly issued within days.
Authorities say Calderon, a senior office assistant, would accept the cash and quickly pass a portion to Benitez, a building inspector. Once paid, Benitez allegedly scheduled inspections right away, helping push approvals through the system at an unusually rapid pace.
The timing raised red flags. In some cases, prosecutors allege the money was exchanged and permits were issued within minutes.
The key turning point came through a public corruption investigation that tracked the pattern of expedited permits and linked them to alleged payments between contractors and the two employees.
On April 2, 2026, both defendants surrendered to authorities and were arraigned in Suffolk County Supreme Court. They were released without bail under New York law and are due back in court on May 21, 2026.
If convicted on the top charges, they face up to seven years in prison.
Prosecutors emphasized that the charges are allegations, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
