A notorious Queens developer — and convicted felon — is being investigated by the state Attorney General’s office for allegedly defying a state consent decree that barred him from selling condos and coops for life, The Post has learned.
Tommy Huang, 57, once dubbed the “Asian Donald Trump” for developing vast swaths of Flushing, was slapped with the lifetime ban in 1999 when then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer charged him with not paying $325,000 in operating costs promised to renters in two Flushing buildings in which he held the majority stake.
Spitzer alleged the missed payments led to deteriorating conditions at the buildings held by Huang and his wife — the heiress to the Bull’s Head barbecue sauce fortune in Taiwan.
At the time, Spitzer trumpeted the consent decree as sending a “strong and clear message” to developers that “if you don’t live up to your responsibilities — we will find you and prosecute you.”
But authorities are not probing if the wily Huang is up to his old tricks.
In 2010 court depositions obtained by The Post, Huang admitted to setting up a homeowner’s association for four homes he and his family were building in a wealthy area of Bayside bordering Little Neck Bay.
His son, Henry, admitted his father also was the paid vice president of the corporation selling units at another condo, the 8-story Broadway Tower in Elmhurst, and had helped purchase the property. The company has sold at least 26 condo units, according to deeds.
“He agreed to not sponsor any development or homeowners organizations, but his name keeps popping up,” said lawyer Stuart Klein, who is suing Huang on behalf of Bayside homeowners.
In his suit, Klein charges that Huang’s shoddy Bayside development did $300,000 worth of damage to area homeowners’ properties when it caused a retaining wall to collapse on a steep slope in 2004. One homeowner’s massive pool started migrating down the slope and had to be shored up to prevent it from landing in the Cross Island Parkway, Klein alleged.
Huang declined to comment.
The developer has a long history of dangerous developments.
In 1999, he pleaded guilty to two felony counts for letting more than 200 gallons of oil spill in the landmark RKO Keith’s Theater in Flushing after he bought it, and then lying about it to officials.
In June, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined three companies — including one controlled by Huang — for “willful violations” in connection to an infamous Queens Boulevard building that collapsed and killed a worker in January. Huang’s company, H-Rock Corporation, settled the fine last month for $26,550.
“There’s no question that the book should be thrown at this guy. He should be in jail,” said Sen. Tony Avella (D-Queens). Avella sponsored a bill while in the City Council in 2008 that would bar the city from issuing permits to developers who constantly violated building codes, and Huang was his inspiration, Avella said.
Huang had close ties to Queens politicians. His longtime attorney, Lung Fong Chen, was closely associated with the father of City Comptroller John Liu. Chen and Liu’s father, Joseph, were convicted of bank fraud in connection with a $1 million scheme at Liu’s Great Eastern Bank in 2001AG spokeswoman Lauren Passalacqua said she could not comment on an “ongoing matter before the office,” but encouraged “anyone with information to contact us.”
Hhaddon@nypost.com