Joe Morra’s reported departure from the JFK Chamber of Commerce, revelations in the Eric Ulrich bribery trial, and new whistleblower allegations involving Mike Rizzo raise questions about the intersection of airport contracting, private sanitation, and political influence.

JFK AIRPORT, NEW YORK — Two corruption scandals. One influential airport business community. And a growing number of connections that demand closer scrutiny.

As former New York City Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich stands trial on corruption charges, new questions are emerging about the relationships linking prominent figures in JFK’s airport contracting and waste management industries.

At the center of those questions is Joe Morra, longtime general manager of Royal Waste Services and president of the JFK Airport Chamber of Commerce, whose reported departure from Chamber leadership comes amid heightened scrutiny of New York’s sanitation industry.

The timing raises an obvious question: Why now?

Morra has spent decades cultivating relationships across the airport community, including involvement with the Kennedy Airport Airlines Management Council (KAAMCO).

Meanwhile, prosecutors in Manhattan have presented evidence concerning an alleged scheme involving Ulrich and Ozone Park businessman Joseph Livreri, whose interests intersected with the private sanitation industry.

According to courtroom reporting, prosecutors allege Ulrich discussed placing Livreri in the Department of Sanitation, potentially positioning him to benefit associates connected to Royal Waste Services.

Ulrich reportedly characterized the proposed arrangement as putting a “fox in the henhouse.”

The Livreri brothers, Joseph and Anthony, pleaded guilty in September to bribery and conspiracy charges arising from their dealings with Ulrich. Ulrich has denied accepting bribes.

But the story may extend beyond City Hall.

In March, New York Airport News published whistleblower allegations involving Mike Rizzo, identified by its source as a former Delta Cargo executive connected to a separate JFK contracting investigation.

That investigation, announced by New York Attorney General Letitia James in December 2025, uncovered alleged bribery arrangements involving fraudulent invoices, intermediaries, and payments to an unnamed Delta employee.

A whistleblower previously told this publication that Rizzo was connected to additional alleged contracting irregularities involving garbage collection, inflated billing, and airport-related vendors. Those additional accusations remain unproven.

Now, a source has provided another potentially significant lead.

According to the whistleblower, Rizzo, Dr. Raymond Kayume, and other individuals associated with the airport contracting investigation were frequent visitors to Aldo’s Pizzeria in Ozone Park, which the source characterized as a favored gambling gathering place.

The allegation has not been independently corroborated.

Aldo’s former operators, the Livreri brothers, are the same businessmen who pleaded guilty in the Ulrich corruption case. Prosecutors have also described Joseph Livreri’s involvement in a separate illegal gambling establishment, the 89th Street Café.

Another documented connection warrants examination: both Morra and Kayume are listed as board members of Christ for the World Chapel, an organization serving the JFK community. Kayume was charged in the Delta Cargo bribery investigation. Their shared board membership does not establish involvement in any common wrongdoing.

Are these merely overlapping relationships within a close-knit business community, or do they warrant a broader examination of how airport contracts, political access, and private sanitation interests intersect?

No public evidence reviewed by this publication establishes that Morra participated in either charged bribery scheme, that Rizzo participated in the Ulrich case, or that the two investigations are connected.

Nevertheless, the overlapping institutions, relationships, and newly reported allegations raise questions deserving further investigation.

New York Airport News will continue examining these connections as additional information becomes available.