Metro

Brooklyn DA panels grand jury to probe price gouging

In a price-gouging crackdown, the Brooklyn District Attorney today empaneled a special grand jury to probe hotels and gas stations that allegedly jacked-up prices in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.

Folks running Sandy charity scams and bogus construction firms are also being investigated, said DA Charles Hynes.

“I’ve asked [two assistant district attorneys] to begin to present evidence to a special rackets grand jury on Monday,” Hynes said, calling the alleged gouging “unconscionable.”

“The sad part of any tragedy is that it brings out the best and the very worst in people,” he said. “Certainly those people who are overcharging folks [for] hotel rooms ought to be ashamed of themselves and they may very well have to pay a criminal penalty.”

The city’s Dept. of Consumer Affairs is also tracking ripoff rogues, and by yesterday said it had racked up more than 491 complaints, mostly related to gas prices.

“The Department is seeing a huge spike in the number of New Yorkers angry about their experience at gas stations,” said DCA Commissioner Jonathan Mintz, adding that he’s deployed inspectors to “hundreds” of stations with instructions to issue violations to gougers.

Among those being eyes are a Bronx gas station offering 3 gallons of gas for $50, and Astoria Mobil station charging $.70 a gallon and a Jackson Heights Shell station allegedly charging $5.50 a gallon. Gas in the city currently sells for about $4.21 a gallon.

The Brooklyn grand jury comes in the wake of a large-scale gouging probe by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who this week subpoenaed Craigslist for the names of alleged online gougers — including one who offered an empty, $20 5-gallon red gas container for $500.

By yesterday, price-gouging complaints to the AG had topped 600 and were still coming in, a spokesman said.

One Craigslist user yesterday posted a warning on the site, noting, “All you guys selling gas on here you better be careful you will be Suponea’d (sic)”

Hynes said his office is sharing information with the AG and that gougers could wind up being prosecuted by bother offices.

Meanwhile, some towing firms are charging thousands more than necessary to tow storm-soaked cars, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB.)

In one instance, a tower billed $2,150 for a tow, which included a $1,250 “recovery” fee. One company even claimed that 50 percent of the charge goes to the Red Cross.

“These charges are way out of line,” said NICB boss Joe Wehrle. “This kind of outrageous conduct is only adding to the misery and expense incurred by people who have already suffered far too much.”

Additional reporting by

Pedro Oliviera

and

Jeane MacIntosh