The former head of the Hempstead Housing Authority is facing federal charges.

Former Housing Authority chairman Cornell Bozier is accused of taking $100,000 in an alleged kickback scheme.

The North Baldwin man pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, theft and wire fraud in federal court on Thursday.

Prosecutors say the money that was allegedly taken was supposed to be used to make repairs at a low-income housing complex in the village.

Federal prosecutors say Bozier secured a $250,000 contract for his alleged co-conspirator to replace a roof at a Housing Authority building. When the job was then subcontracted for $23,000, the FBI says Bozier's former Housing Authority director Stacy Stackhouse and other co-conspirators pocketed the rest of the money. Stackhouse pleaded guilty to the charges last year.



According to the FBI, more than $500,000 was stolen in total from the Housing Authority through the alleged bid- rigging scheme.



Current Hempstead Housing Director Rosemery Olsen says she was brought in to clean up the corruption after Bozier resigned. 

"We've been making a lot of changes over the last three and a half years and I think that we're a good quality housing authority," says Olsen.

Bozier was released on $150,000 bond, and as a condition of his bond, he is not allowed to leave New York. He will also be monitored by the courts.