Supporters of New York City Council member Farah Louis and her sister, Debbie Louis—an aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul—turned out Thursday in Brooklyn for a rally aimed at distancing the pair from a federal bribery investigation that has prompted searches of their homes. The two sisters stood silently behind clergymen gathered in a Brooklyn park, while religious leaders argued that the inquiry is unfair and said it has caused emotional strain even as they said the sisters have done nothing wrong.
A copy of a search warrant obtained by The Associated Press describes prosecutors’ efforts to determine whether Farah Louis and Debbie Louis accepted bribes in exchange for steering city funds to a shelter provider associated with BHRAGS Home Care Inc. The warrant says prosecutors want information about whether actions taken on behalf of BHRAGS were connected to benefits offered to the sisters, whose public response has not yet been made.
The sisters have also declined to comment publicly since federal investigators moved forward with the case. At the Thursday rally, the AP reported, Farah Louis and Debbie Louis did not respond to questions as the clergy spoke. Their supporters framed the investigation as baseless, with some pastors saying it was wrong to press for an early conclusion.
Orlando Findlayter, a Brooklyn pastor who spoke at the rally, described the sisters as people of integrity and argued against rushing to judgment. Findlayter said, “These are ladies of integrity, ladies who have given their all to this community,” and added, “If they want to investigate, let them investigate, but no one should rush to judgment.”
Federal prosecutors brought bribery charges the day after the investigation emerged publicly, including charges against BHRAGS’ executive director, its former board chairman, and two subcontractors linked to the nonprofit. Prosecutors’ indictment, as reported by the AP, accuses subcontractors of paying bribes and kickbacks to BHRAGS in exchange for contracts worth millions, and it does not mention the Louis sisters.
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn declined to comment on whether Farah and Debbie Louis are involved in the investigation, according to the AP. Another pastor, Louis Straker, addressed the climate around the case, telling the gathered supporters, “Politics is a dirty game,” and adding, “There’s a certain level of gamesmanship that you must navigate in order to get things done.”
Other religious leaders also urged the New York City Council not to refer Farah Louis to the ethics committee, the AP reported, though a spokesperson for the council did not respond to an inquiry about whether such a referral had been made. Findlayter said the process has been hard for the sisters, adding, “It’s very, very traumatic for them,” while also saying that “the fact that they have not done anything wrong gives them some level of peace in the midst of the storm.”
The AP reported that Debbie Louis has been placed on leave after Hochul’s office learned of the investigation late last month. Weeks earlier, the sisters’ homes were searched as part of the federal investigation, and the Thursday rally followed on the heels of the public emergence of the case.
As covered earlier in the developing probe, MSI previously reported that a NYC council member and a Hochul aide were probed over migrant shelter bribes in a federal investigation that centered on shelter-related contracting.
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