WOULDN'T ASK LAWYERS FOR A DISCOUNT?

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., announced the guilty plea of CHRISTOPHER HARTWYK, 53, the former Deputy General Counsel at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, for submitting a fraudulent letter that falsely indicated that the Port Authority would receive a reduced rate on legal services when, in fact, no such discount was offered by the law firm. HARTWYK pleaded guilty in New York County Criminal Court to Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the Second Degree.

“Lawyers must always be honest in their dealings,” said District Attorney Vance. “In this instance, the defendant was not honest with his employer, and he has now personally paid the price.”

Robert E. Van Etten, Inspector General of the Port Authority, said: “The Inspector General’s investigation determined that Mr. Hartwyk engaged in criminal conducted that violated the trust that the Port Authority placed in him as the former Deputy General Counsel. By creating and forging a letter, purportedly from a law firm engaged by the Port Authority, Mr. Hartwyk concealed the fact that the law firm was not providing the Port Authority a 15% across-the-board discount on its billing rates. The effect of Mr. Hartwyk’s conduct was to deny the Port Authority the opportunity to save money on its legal expenses. The Port Authority Law Department had instructed Mr. Hartwyk to obtain discounts from all of the law firms it engaged. Rather than obtain a discount from one such law firm, Mr. Hartwyk chose to violate his public trust to the detriment of his employer, and the public at large. I would like to thank District Attorney Vance for prosecuting this important matter.”

As admitted by the defendant in his guilty plea, in March 2009, HARTWYK submitted a letter to the Port Authority’s Office of the General Counsel that was purportedly signed by a partner at the law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP (“Weil”). The letter stated that all fees billed to the Port Authority for legal work would be subject to a 15 percent discount. In fact, HARTWYK knew that Weil never agreed to give the Port Authority that discount.

Assistant District Attorneys Eli Cherkasky and Daniel G. Cort, Chief of the Public Integrity Bureau, handled the prosecution of the case. The investigation was conducted by Police Investigator Thomas M. Jobes of the Office of Inspector General of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, under the supervision of Robert Joyce, Investigative Manager, Steven Pasichow, Assistant Director of Investigations, and Michael Nestor, Director of Investigations. Trial Preparation Assistant Samuel Burns assisted in the investigation, as did Investigator Behzad Ahdout, under the supervision of Chief Investigator Walter Alexander of the District Attorney’s Office.

District Attorney Vance also thanked Port Authority Inspector General Van Etten for his office’s assistance in the investigation.

Defendant Information:

CHRISTOPHER HARTWYK, D.O.B. 7/4/1960
Essex, NJ

Convicted:

• Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the Second Degree, a class A misdemeanor, 1 count