Attorneys for Ryan Benitez, a former East Hampton Town building inspector who is facing bribery and official misconduct charges, and his former co-worker, Evelyn Calderon, facing the same charges, appeared in court in Riverhead on Tuesday, where they conferenced with the judge in his chambers before leaving the courtroom.
Mr. Benitez and Ms. Calderon, a former principal office assistant in the Building Department, have been charged with accepting cash bribes from contractors with the expectation that building permits and certificates of occupancy would be expedited.
Mr. Benitez, represented by Austin Manghan III, was there in person. Ms. Calderon, represented by Edward Burke Jr., was not.
During the conferences on Tuesday, Mr. Benitez sat quietly in the courtroom audience with his mother. He spoke briefly to Mr. Burke but otherwise remained silent.
According to the Suffolk County district attorney’s office, when “a bribe was received from a contractor, Ms. Calderon would allegedly prioritize a bribe-paying contractor’s application even though she was supposed to process applications in chronological order.” This would reduce the wait time for the contractor from months to mere days.
An indictment in March covered five instances involving four unnamed contractors, alleged to have occurred between June 2024 and January 2025, with bribery amounts ranging from $1,500 to $6,000.
The D.A. alleges that after Ms. Calderon received the cash from the contractors, she would “on the same day, sometimes within minutes, pay half” to Mr. Benitez, who “would then allegedly schedule and conduct the inspection expeditiously in order to issue the building permit to the contractor.”
Mr. Benitez resigned from his position in January.
Ms. Calderon was suspended without pay in April but remains, technically, employed by the town. In June, town officials agreed to maintain her health insurance benefits. She agreed to pay for the benefits while on suspension.
According to the town’s agreement with Ms. Calderon, once the charges against her are adjudicated, the terms of her employment will be revisited.
The pair surrendered to the D.A.’s office on April 2 and were arraigned before Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei, each on five counts of bribe receiving, felonies, and five counts of official misconduct, misdemeanors.
They or their attorneys have appeared in court four times since then.
Prior to a court appearance in June, Mr. Manghan said he would not comment on the case. He did not respond to requests for comment this week.
According to the court website, their next appearances will be on Aug. 20.
