Armory Show Bribery Scandal Probe Involves Marc Jacobs
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The design company Marc Jacobs International has landed in the midst of a bribery scandal, as state investigators are examining whether illegal payments were made on the company’s behalf to help it rent out the armory on Lexington Avenue for fashion shows. Attorney General Cuomo is charging a former superintendent of the armory with demanding about $30,000 worth of bribes over the last eight years from businesses that were eager to use the space.
At a press conference yesterday, prosecutors did not suggest that they believe the designer Marc Jacobs himself was aware of the bribes allegedly made on his company’s behalf. Mr. Cuomo said the payments were made by an employee at an event-planning firm that includes Marc Jacobs International on its client list, KCD Worldwide.
The armory on Lexington between 25th and 26th streets serves as headquarters for New York’s Fighting 69th Infantry Regiment. When not used by the military unit, the armory regularly rents at $6,000 a day for corporate events. Mr. Jacobs has long used the site, which can hold thousands of spectators, for his shows.
An indictment filed by Mr. Cuomo’s office charges the former superintendent of the armory, James Jackson, with either soliciting or accepting bribes on at least 10 occasions from the fashion company.
In a statement, a lawyer for KCD Worldwide, Kenneth Breen, said KCD “is cooperating with the attorney general’s investigation.”
A call for comment to Marc Jacobs International was not returned.
Mr. Jackson, who was initially arrested last year, pleaded not guilty in state court in Manhattan yesterday. He was employed for 30 years by the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs. When reached by telephone, a lawyer for Mr. Jackson, Alan Abramson, declined to comment.
Prosecutors began investigating Mr. Jackson after they received a tip from a producer of a carpet show scheduled for the armory. The state’s inspector general, Kristine Hamann, said at the press conference that Mr. Jackson had demanded $1,500 in cash from the carpet show organizers. An undercover officer was dispatched to make the payment, Ms. Hamann said at the press conference.
Prosecutors said that in return for bribes Mr. Jackson allowed vendors to move in early and forgo certain additional fees associated with renting the armory.
