Embattled ex-New York City Buildings Department head Eric Ulrich — charged with trading political favors for more than $150,000 in bribes — asked a judge Wednesday to appoint him an attorney, after admitting he can no longer afford his legal bills.
“At this point … he no longer has the funds,” Ulrich’s current lawyer Sam Braverman said during a hearing in Manhattan Supreme Court, where Ulrich is accused of selling out his political posts — including a stint as a senior adviser to Mayor Eric Adams — to scoop up goodies like Mets season tickets worth $10,000 and a custom suit.
Ulrich, 39, who is now working as an insurance broker and published a children’s book during the years-long corruption probe, also can’t afford to retain a new lawyer, Braverman added.
When asked by Justice Daniel Conviser whether that was true, Ulrich said, “Yes, your honor.”
The judge then said he planned to appoint Ulrich an experienced attorney paid for by the court system in the coming days.
Ulrich did not comment when asked about his financial situation on his way out of court, but the Queens native and diehard Mets fan perked up when a reporter asked him about whether the team’s scorching-hot franchise shortstop Francisco Lindor should be named Major League Baseball’s Most Valuable Player.
“Not my decision to make,” he quipped, flashing a smile.
Ulrich was charged alongside six other defendants, including Brooklyn real estate developer and top Adams donor Mark Caller, 51; Queens pizza joint owners and brothers Joseph, 55, and Anthony Livreri, 51; Michael Mazzio, 54, the operator of a Brooklyn towing company; Paul Grego, 73, a consultant who works to fast-track clients’ permit and plan approvals at the Buildings Department; and Victor Truta, 53, a former city Department of Correction officer.
Cases against all of the men are still pending.
Additional reporting by Kyle Schnitzer
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