Mayor Adams Appoints Elizabeth Crotty as Business Integrity Commission Commissioner and Chair

March 18, 2022

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced the appointment of Elizabeth Crotty as commissioner and chair of the New York City Business Integrity Commission (BIC). The mission of BIC is to ensure that trade waste and wholesale market companies, which have historically been plagued by corruption and connections to organized crime, are conducting their business safely and with integrity. Previously, Crotty was the founding partner at Crotty Saland, PC. Crotty has an established record of successfully handling high-level cases of corruption, fraud, racketeering, and money laundering.

“From day one, my administration made a commitment to transparency and accountability, to establish a culture that adheres to the highest standards of integrity and good government, and the appointment of Liz Crotty is part of that work,” said Mayor Eric Adams. “Liz Crotty is delivering more than 20 years of criminal trial experience to help New York City in its mission to ensure businesses in the commercial trade waste industry and wholesale food markets conduct their affairs with integrity and honesty. Commissioner and Chair Crotty has a proven track record of managing the most complex and complicated cases, and I look forward to working with her.”

Mayor Adams has made clear that his administration will be guided by the values of accountability, transparency, and fidelity to the highest ethical standards. To that end, the administration undertook a reorganization to consolidate key ethics and enforcement agencies into a single portfolio under the Chief Counsel, including BIC, the Commission on Human Rights, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, the Commission to Combat Police Corruption, the newly-created Mayor’s Office of Risk Management and Compliance, the Office of Administrative Justice Coordinator, and the Mayor’s Judiciary Committee. The Chief Counsel’s Office also conducts an extensive and mandatory legal and ethics training program for all mayor’s office employees, which began even before the administration took office. Such steps, along with today’s announcement, emphasize the administration’s deep commitment to the principles of good government.

Mayor Adams also recently signed Executive Order 6, which reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to free speech transparency, particularly around the sharing of information by agencies. The order was based on the recommendations of a social justice commission led by civil rights attorney Norman Siegel, which delivered its report to the mayor last month.

“Liz Crotty is a seasoned and accomplished lawyer and leader who knows how to achieve results in government,” said Chief Counsel to the Mayor and City Hall Brendan McGuire. “The Business Integrity Commission will play a critical role in ensuring that those who conduct business in the city do so fairly and transparently, and Liz is the right person to lead the agency into its next chapter. Her appointment is one more example of the mayor’s commitment to establishing a culture of good government and accountability in this administration.”

“I am honored by Mayor Adams’ confidence in me to run this unique law enforcement and regulatory agency, ensuring trade waste and wholesale market companies are conducting their business safely and with integrity,” said incoming BIC Commissioner and Chair Crotty. “From my experience as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office overseeing complex domestic and international financial investigations, to my 13 years in private practice, I am ready to take on this task. A fair playing field with an open and competitive market in these industries is essential for New York’s economy and post-COVID recovery. I am ready to go to work.”

“The NYPD looks forward to working closely with Commissioner Crotty, and continuing our long-standing partnership with the Business Integrity Commission,” said New York City Police Department Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell. “We are confident that her appointment will further enhance our shared public-safety mission, and her leadership of the BIC will benefit all the people we serve.”

“The Business Integrity Commission plays a vital role in maintaining the public's trust and rooting out corruption in industries long plagued by it. DSNY looks forward to working with Commissioner Crotty on this critically important work,” said New York City Department of Sanitation Commissioner Edward Grayson.

“The Business Integrity Commission works daily to ensure the businesses they regulate are operating ethically and safely,” said New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga. “Mayor Adams has made the perfect choice by appointing Liz, an experienced attorney and investigator, to lead BIC. I look forward to working with Liz to advance New York City’s economic recovery by protecting consumers and ensuring New York City businesses operate with integrity.”

“The regulatory work BIC does is crucial to helping NYC businesses operate safely and fairly,” said New York City Department of Small Business Services Commissioner Kevin D. Kim. “I am looking forward to working closely with Commissioner Liz Crotty to make it clear to all businesses that this city is not only open for business, but that we are committed to a business environment based on transparency and integrity.”

“Mayor Adams has chosen well by naming Liz Crotty to head the Business Integrity Commission,” said New York Attorney General Tish James. “She has had a distinguished legal career in both the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office overseeing complex financial investigations and as a private attorney. She is committed to ensuring the integrity in regulated businesses.”

“With her vast experience as an attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and founding her own law office, no one has more relevant experience to run the Business Integrity Commission than Liz Crotty,” said Betsy Gotbaum, executive director, Citizens Union. “Not only is she an experienced investigator, but she also knows how to resolve problems brought on by the investigations. Liz is a person of utmost integrity and this is an excellent appointment.”

“Liz Crotty’s experience as a prosecutor, an attorney in private practice and as a civic activist has prepared her to take on the challenges of the New York City Business Integrity Commission,” said former New York Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch. “Mayor Adams has made an excellent choice in assigning her to ensure industries that have had past exposure to criminal elements are operating honestly and effectively for the small businesses and consumers of the city.”

About Elizabeth Crotty

Elizabeth (Liz) Crotty will be the commissioner and chair of the Business Integrity Commission. She previously worked at Crotty Saland, PC where she was a Founding Partner. Before that, she was an Associate at Kreindler & Kreindler litigating major international complex civil cases. Crotty currently serves as a board member for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Association, a not-for-profit alumni organization of the Manhattan DA’s Office. In addition, she serves on the New York City Bar Association’s Judiciary Committee. Liz started her career as an Assistant District Attorney at the New York County District Attorney’s Office, prosecuting complex financial crimes under the Special Prosecutions Bureau.

Crotty holds a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and a B.A. in European History and Art History from Hobart & William Smith Colleges.

Crotty will report to Chief Counsel to the Mayor and City Hall Brendan McGuire.

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