A Manhattan judge has backed state investigators who are trying to get to the bottom of a controversial deal to sell state land to an Indian community group in Queens.
The organization that got the sweetheart deal, the Indian Cultural and Community Center, has stopped cooperating with detectives dispatched by state Inspector General Ellen Biben, court records show.
But Supreme Court Justice Manuel Mendez said in a ruling last week that there is “a legitimate and reasonable basis for [the IG’s] inquiry,” and he ordered the Indian Cultural and Community Center to turn over the records requested.
The deal — first exposed by The Post this summer — is now the subject of two state probes. The other is by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
At issue is the sale of 4.5 acres of the old Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens Village. In 2009, the group won the right to build a community center on the site in return for a $1.8 million payment to the state Dormitory Authority. The parcel is actually worth $7.3 million, according to city finance records.
After turning over nearly 800 pages, the organization refused to hand over anything more.