Westchester County legislative aide Anand Singh was fired last week after a sting operation video surfaced of him allegedly traveling to New Jersey to meet up with who he thought was a teen girl.
nypost.com
Westchester legislative aide fired after vigilante video accuses him of soliciting 14-year-old
By
David Propper
April 21, 2023 7:09pm
Updated
Westchester lawmakers are being questioned on why they kept Anand Singh on the books. OBL GLOBAL, /YouTube
Westchester County lawmakers are facing questions about keeping an aide on the payroll for months — despite being tipped off to a video that allegedly showed him trying to meet with who he thought was a preteen girl.
Legislative staffer Anand Singh, 33, was fired on April 13, months after at least three lawmakers — including the board chairwoman — on the Democratic-heavy Board of Legislators were made aware of the caught-on-tape allegations stemming from a December incident.
The video purports to show Singh allegedly traveling to New Jersey to meet with what he believed was a 14-year-old girl after the two exchanged sexually explicit text messages. The
31-minute video was publicly released last week by OBL Global, a vigilante group that works to expose child predators.
The Westchester District Attorney’s office is now probing lawmakers’ actions leading up to Singh’s firing, and at least two lawmakers have called on Board of Legislators Chairwoman Catherine Borgia to step down because they believe she mishandled the case after becoming aware of the video.
Borgia said this week that when she found out about the alleged footage, she had the county’s Department of Public Safety look into it, but the existence of the video could not be substantiated then.
She said the staffer was quickly fired when the video was released last week.
A video was sent showing Anand Singh soliciting who he thought was a preteen. OBL GLOBAL, /YouTube
County prosecutors have requested that lawmakers and their staffers preserve all documents and communications related to Singh and any subsequent actions taken by the board before he was fired as part of their probe, according to a letter obtained by The Post.
“The (Westchester County District Attorney’s Office) has reason to believe that, on or about the time of the Incident, members of the (Board of Legislators) were made aware of the allegations,” part of the letter sent Tuesday states.
The district attorney’s office said it only became aware of the allegations last Friday and quickly launched a probe.
Legislator Colin Smith told The Post this week he got two emails — one in December and one in February — about the sting video tied to Singh before it was released. He said in December he told the board clerk, who contacted Borgia, and he also informed the department of public safety about both emails.
Singh made arrangements to go to the young girl’s house with Plan B and “toys.”OBL GLOBAL, /YouTube
Smith said the December email he received was also sent to Legislator Ben Boykin. Boykin had no comment through the legislative office this week.
The video, which Smith called “reprehensible,” shows a man, who is alleged to be Singh, texting with a decoy who claims she is 14 years old. The texts ramp up to become more sexually explicit after the man originally seems hesitant to interact with the purported minor.
The two also spoke on the phone multiple times about him coming to see her, and at one point confirmed he was bringing “Plan B,” the morning-after pill, and “toys,” the footage shows.
The video concludes when a man who appears to be Singh is confronted by the leader of OBL Global about the alleged illicit messages before he flees from a Newark, New Jersey, building where he and the decoy minor were supposed to meet up.
Near the end of the video, OBL members are seen speaking with police officers.
Singh could not be reached for comment this week. No arrest or charges against him have been reported.
He started at the Board of Legislators in January 2021 and made $76,850 annually before he was fired on April 13.
Newark police said it never received a call to report this December incident as a crime. While the confrontation happened in Newark, the police officers that appeared near the end of the sting video talking to OBL members are from another agency, Newark police said.
OBL Global leader Ramy El-Daly told The Post Friday the officers he’s speaking with are from another episode so viewers could hear him explain how his group conducts each investigation. He said police were not called the night of the incident after Singh left.
The district attorney’s office said it only became aware of the allegations last Friday and quickly launched a probe.OBL GLOBAL, /YouTube
He also said that livestreams are done at the time of the sting operations but are then made private immediately afterward and before they are put back online with better production.
The Journal News, News 12, the Yonkers Ledger and the Yonkers Times have all previously reported on Singh and the video.
Borgia said in a video statement Tuesday that as a mother of two, she took the matter “very seriously” when she was told about it.
“At the time, Public Safety was unable to substantiate the claim that a video existed,” she added. “While the video investigation was occurring, the employee was removed from public-facing duties.”
Borgia posted a
letter on the county’s website that she sent the US Attorney’s Office Tuesday requesting a probe into Singh.
“Allegations surrounding Mr. Singh’s soliciting an underage girl became apparent when a video surfaced on YouTube that shows Mr. Singh contacted what he believed was an underage girl,” she wrote in the letter to the US Attorney.
She said in her statement the FBI is investigating. The US Attorney’s Office and the FBI did not return a phone message seeking comment Friday.
But two lawmakers, a Democrat and Republican, have called on Borgia to step down from her leadership position.
“I think she should resign,” Democratic Legislator Damon Maher told The Post Wednesday. “That’s basically all I can say at this point, that I’m convinced the facts that have been delivered to me today and over the last few days, but especially today, I think she mishandled the situation.”
Maher does not believe Borgia should resign completely from the board, but GOP Legislator James Nolan wants her full resignation. He also wants the commissioner of the county’s public safety, Terrance Raynor, to step down because he believes Raynor mishandled the allegations.
The county executive’s office also sought and received the resignation of Singh from the county’s Asian American Advisory Board.OBL GLOBAL, /YouTube
Borgia did not return a request seeking comment. She previously said she would assist in any investigation.
A spokesperson for the county executive’s office, which oversees public safety, said calls for resignations in the public safety department are “inappropriate” while the district attorney’s office probes actions taken before Singh was fired.
“The result of the DA’s inquiry will provide a basis for any subsequent action,” spokesperson Catherine Cioffi said, adding any calls for resignations in the department are for “seeking partisan advantage.”
The county executive’s office also sought and received the resignation of Singh from the county’s Asian American Advisory Board.
Yonkers Councilwoman Shanae Williams has also blasted Chris Johnson, the legislator she’s trying to unseat in a primary this year, over board’s handling of Singh.
She questioned when he knew about the allegations, but Johnson said in a statement he didn’t know about the accusations until the day Singh was fired. He also said even as majority leader on the board, he does not have the power to make personnel moves.
