BROOKLYN — A manager at a Sunset Park BBQ joint was arrested Thursday after workers repeatedly tried to bribe inspectors to get out of multiple health code violations, according to the city’s Department of Investigation.
The case began September 2015, when a worker at Funny BBQ Bar at 818 54th St. first offered a health inspector cash after they found improperly refrigerated food and food exposed to contamination, according to officials.
The inspector refused the cash and reported the worker to DOI.
The agency then sent an undercover investigator to the restaurant in November 2015, who again observed multiple violations, including mouse droppings and mold in the refrigerator.
Wei Dong, 26, then told the undercover investigator he could "give you something if you don't put [the violations] in the computer," according to a criminal complaint.
"You want to give me something, so I don't put it in the computer?" the investigator responded.
Dong then slid $300 in cash across a table, which the undercover inspector then picked up and counted.
Dong was charged Thursday with bribery and giving unlawful gratuities. He faces up to seven years in prison on the top charge.
“This arrest highlights the importance of City workers recognizing wrongdoing, standing up for integrity, and reporting corruption to DOI for investigation,” DOI Commissioner Mark Peters said in a statement. “This DOHMH inspector’s actions ensured the health and safety of restaurant goers was protected and deserves to be commended.”
A worker at the restaurant said there were no managers available to speak and then declined to comment.
Dong was released without bail after being arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court Thursday.
His lawyer did not return and immediate call for comment.
