The undersheriff retires a week after the no-bid contract came to light; sheriff sales are suspended by court order

Undersheriff Curtis Douglas, Bilal’s chief legal advisor, announced his retirement a week after reporting revealed the six-year Bid4Assets contract had been issued without Law Department review, in violation of the city charter. “Undersheriff Douglass is currently retiring from decades of public service!” spokesperson Theresa Lundy wrote in an email. “This is great news.”

At a Council hearing, Councilmember Helen Gym had asked Douglas: “You wanted to do a six-year contract because there was an emergency right now?” “That’s correct,” he responded. “We did an extensive vetting process.”

The controversy over the shift to online auctions culminated in a court order suspending sheriff sales through the summer.