Lifestyle Inflation In 2019, Victor Rivera gave himself a raise.
Head increased his regular salary of $67,000 to a much higher salary of $306,000 per year.
Suddenly, Rivera was living a whole different lifestyle.
Rivera's most expensive purchase was his house in Stoney Point, New York.
Stoney Point is a small middle-class town outside of New York City.
It's not exceedingly wealthy but offers some upper-class living for those who can afford
it.
Rivera's Stoney Point mansion cost him $780,000.
The castle-like home featured a heated pool, a waterfall, and a three-car garage.
He also purchased a four-bedroom house in the Poconos mountains in Pennsylvania.
The region is famous for its rolling green mountains and hills.
Average North-Easterners vacation there; wealthy north-easterners own mountain homes.
Robert E Kinter, former president of ABC and NBC, owns a house in the Poconos.
So does former NFL running back James Mungro and the inventor of the heart-shaped bathtub,
Morris Wilkins.
When he needed a break from running the Bronx Network, Rivera and Lanet drove his Mercedes
E Class up to their house in Poconos.
If they didn't feel like driving far, they'd go to Stoney Point.
The Mercedes, which usually retails at $60,000, was paid for by Rivera's shelters.
They classified the expense as a "company vehicle."
Technically, Rivera was using company money to buy all the items mentioned earlier.
He also bought his wife a $2100 Celine Phantom handbag for her birthday.
Lanet was so proud of her gift that she posted about it on Facebook.
These purchases were so blatant that everyone could tell the Rivera's had money.
It was out there for everyone to see.
And many people, including a few councilors, knew about Rivera's bizarre spending habits.
Nevertheless, Rivera thought he could get away with his lavish spending because of his
consultancy businesses.
Shockwaves The New York Times published a detailed piece
on Victor Rivera in February of 2021.
The piece sent shockwaves through New York City as its residents read the horrifying
truth about the supposed do-gooder Victor Rivera.
The Times accused Rivera of taking funds from Bronx Network and spending them on personal
luxuries.
However, their primary accusation, backed up by witness testimonies, was that Rivera
had mistreated several of his homeless female tenants.
In less than a week, Rivera's life accomplishments came unraveled.
He stepped down from Bronx Network, knowing he'd be going to court to face his crimes.
However, he wouldn't be legally punished for the mistreatment allegations.
The allegations may have destroyed Rivera's reputation.
But the financial crimes put him in cuffs.
Bronx Network Victor Rivera founded the Bronx Parent Housing
Network in 2000.
The network focused on housing homeless people suffering on the streets, paving the humble
beginning of Rivera's empire.
In 2013, the homeless population in New York skyrocketed.
Then Mayor Bill de Blasio had to solve a seemingly impossible crisis.
He immediately pledged to revitalize the shelter system, which he indeed followed through with.
In 2017, de Blasio announced that the city would aim to build 90 shelters in the coming
years.
This was good news for Rivera.
He quickly applied for de Blasio's shelter revitalization project, hoping he'd be accepted.
The Bronx Network was accepted and received excessive public funding, so much so that
Rivera's place in New York society changed overnight.
Rivera and his wife Lanet, who was also involved in the homeless shelter business, rubbed shoulders
with some of the most important bureaucrats.
They met these bureaucrats at local charity functions.
Rivera and his wife dined with city councilman and other officials.
He even hosted a campaign fundraiser for New York City councilman Richie Torres, who would
later earn a seat in Congress.
Rivera had come a long way from a homeless addict wandering the South Bronx.
On the surface, he was happily married, he owned a thriving and fulfilling business,
and, as a bonus, he knew a Congressman.
It was more than he could have ever imagined.
But it wasn't meant to last.
Victor Rivera Victor Rivera was once the esteemed and proud
person who ran 70 homeless shelters and soup kitchens in New York City.
Now, he’s a convicted felon after pleading guilty to fraud.
Rivera provides most of the details about his early life through interviews.
In fact, he loved telling everyone, from reporters to podcasters, about his rags to riches story.
Rivera usually starts his story off with his early childhood—how he grew up in the South
Bronx.
At age 9, he started selling in his neighborhood streets to make ends meet.
However, he sold illegal things for a reason.
He wanted to avoid going back to a homeless shelter.
This survivalist attitude helped Rivera develop a knack for business.
For example, Rivera bought two cars before he turned 15.
However, he fathered his first child at 15, blaming a drug addiction for his poor choices.
Eventually, Rivera's addiction consumed his life and illegal dealing business.
It all added up, and Rivera couldn't pay his rent and was forced to live on the streets.
He hadn't been homeless since he was a kid.
Rivera was arrested one day when an NYPD officer discovered drugs on his person.
He spent 1989 and 1990 behind bars after taking drugs while on probation.
Rivera's time in prison changed him, he says.
Upon his release, Rivera vowed to change his lifestyle and beat his drug addiction.
He started working with a low-income housing project in New York for drug addicts.
The recovering addict found purpose and drive while working with people struggling with
the same things he was.
Giving Back By 2000, Rivera had cleaned himself up.
But instead of joining the workforce, Rivera wanted to honor the people who helped him.
He did so by starting his own shelter.
Bronx Network got off to a rocky start.
Rivera struggled to find any public or private funding for most of the 2000s.
However, Rivera's fortunes drastically changed in 2012, the year Bill de Blasio was elected
Mayor of New York.
Victor Rivera, according to his tax filings, made $67,000 in 2012.
And Bronx Network only brought in $1.1 million in funding revenue.
But then, things quickly changed in 2013.
Arrested Rivera was arrested in March of 2021 by a
squad of NYPD officers in New York.
The Times wrote a few more articles on Rivera, following his every movement.
They kept their eyes on him between his arrest, imprisonment, and courtroom appearances.
The media had a field day with Rivera.
He was one of the most prominent shelter owners in New York.
His downfall wasn’t only just a juicy story, but a huge blow to New York City.
At the time of his arrest, Rivera owned 70 homeless shelters and soup kitchens.
Suddenly, all these shelters were confiscated from Rivera after he resigned from Bronx Network.
The collapse of the Bronx Network allowed investigators to dig deeper into Rivera's
scam, showing them and the public who revered him and how corrupt the shelter emperor truly
was.
70 Shelters Rivera set up a system that benefited him
far more than his homeless tenants.
And it all started with public funding.
According to records, U.S Congressman Ritchie Torres was Rivera's primary fund provider.
He helped Rivera obtain at least a million dollars in public funds via grants from NYC's
city council.
These grants are awarded to the council's favorite non-profit organizations, which,
thanks to Torres, was usually the Bronx Housing Network.
However, Torres and other local officials didn't vote for Rivera's company out of the
sheer goodness of his heart.
From 2010 to 2020, Rivera and his wife donated $35,000 to various local officials, according
to campaign finance records.
Most of that sum funneled into Torres' campaign, given he was the most powerful and influential
politician running at the time.
Torres released a public statement after the Times piece.
He completely ignored the allegations that Rivera had bribed him for public funds.
Instead, the newly elected Congressman "relied on city agencies to vet shelter providers."
He never mentioned Rivera, nor did he bring up the Bronx Network.
On the other hand, the numbers don't ignore the fact that Torres disproportionately funded
the Bronx Network.
Rivera's housing company received $274 million in public funding from 2000 to 2020.
However, Rivera pocketed most of the money during the 2010s.
The Consultancy
Rivera owned a consulting business, among other entities.
However, these entities were only legit on paper.
In reality, Rivera was using his consultancy company to clean his dirty public funding
money.
Financial records show that Rivera paid his consultancy company for services using public
funds.
The Bronx Network was making some big bucks in its heyday.
They brought in $80 million a year from public contractors, so Rivera was able to send big
chunks of money to himself without compromising the Bronx Network.
The consultancy, however, wasn't owned by Rivera, on paper at least.
Rivera controlled the companies but put them under a family member's name.
He figured that investigators looking into his financial transactions would only see
friendly family-to-family-business investments.
For the most part, Rivera was right.
Hardly anyone noticed what he was doing with their tax money.
Then, a few brave ex-tenants and employees came forward and told the truth.
No Payoffs Former Bronx Network employee Danielle Dawson
received $45,000 from Rivera in November of 2017.
The money was given to her for one purpose: to make her stop talking.
And she wasn't the only one.
From 2017 to 2019, Rivera paid two womens a combined $175,000.
They had accused Rivera of coercing them into performing highly inappropriate acts.
Rivera expected women to do what he wanted at this point in his career.
The women he exploited were always under his control in one way or another.
Women like Danielle worked for Rivera.
They depended on his employment for their livelihood.
His other accusers suffered from an even more imbalanced power dichotomy.
In 2016, Erica Sklar was lucky enough to obtain a room at Rivera's apartment complex.
Rivera lived there but also used the complex as a homeless shelter.
Erica recalls being grateful to finally get off the streets of New York.
It was winter, and living outside was especially difficult and dangerous.
In December 2016, Rivera asked to inspect her room.
He claimed that someone said there was a leaky ceiling in Erica's bedroom.
But, in reality, there wasn’t a leak.
Erica says Rivera turned off the lights in her bedroom and took advantage of her.
Initially, Erica didn't know what to do.
She says Rivera threatened to evict her if she didn't do what he said.
Erica obeyed him for the time being.
She still needed a place to stay, after all.
However, Erica says she couldn't allow Rivera to get away with mistreating her or any future
women who stay at his shelters.
After leaving the shelter, Erica reported Rivera to the Times.
Aftermath All in all, ten women, including Erica, came
forward to testify against Rivera.
Women like Danielle Dawson allowed the Times access to their horrific stories.
Their stories helped bring attention to Rivera.
And all this attention brought in the authorities.
New York prosecutors accepted Rivera's guilty plea.
He pled guilty to money laundering, honest service fraud, and honest services fraud conspiracy.
Each count carries a 20-year maximum sentence.
His sentencing is set for May 6th, 2022.
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