Updated Thursday, March 12th 2009, 1:26 PM
Lombard for News Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. gives his state of the borough address on Feb. 20, 2009, just before being tapped as President Obama's urban affairs czar.
A government watchdog group asked the U.S. attorney general's office Thursday to open a bribery investigation into White House urban czar Adolfo Carrión.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder in response to several Daily News reports about Carrión's dealings while he was Bronx borough president.
"If the era of pay-to-play politics is over, Adolfo Carrión did not get the message," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the Democrat-leaning CREW.
The News' reported numerous developers made tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations to Carrión around the same time he was considering approving their projects in the Bronx.
Carrión also hired an architect for one of the biggest projects to design a renovation of his home. The job was complete in February 2007, but Carrión has not paid the architect.
The White House has repeatedly declined to comment on the News' findings except to say Carrión should pay the bill, which is slightly over $3,600.
Crew asked Holder "to initiate an immediate investigation into pay-to-play allegations" outlined in The News.
"It appears Mr. Carrión routinely approved development projects in exchange for campaign contributions," Sloan said.
"In addition, Mr. Carrión personally benefitted by accepting free design work from an architect who needed his official assistance. This is exactly the kind of conduct that makes Americans skeptical of our politicians."
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