ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO ANNOUNCES ARREST OF TWO PORT CHESTER CONTRACTORS FOR STEALING MORE THAN $2 MILLION IN WAGES ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS
Officials at Leed Industries Corp. also charged with falsifying records to cover up crime
NEW YORK, NY (May 13, 2010) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the arrests of two Port Chester contractors for allegedly failing to pay approximately $2 million in wages to workers who performed roofing work on numerous schools and other public buildings in Westchester, Dutchess, and Putnam counties.
Larry Dominguez (President) and Evelio Elledias (Vice President) of Leed Industries Corporation ("Leed"), sometimes operating under the name Hi-Tech, are each charged with 290 counts of Falsifying Business Documents in the First Degree (a class E felony), 290 counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing (a class E felony), and one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree (a class B felony). In addition, each defendant is charged with 19 counts of Failure to Pay Wages (a class A misdemeanor). Among the allegations, employees were forced to work as many as seven days and 80 hours per week at wages far below what they were supposed to receive.
"These builders are accused of a criminal scheme that cheated their own workers as well as taxpayers so they could line their pockets with millions in public funds," said Attorney General Cuomo. "These schemes will be uncovered and the employers who violate the law will be held accountable."
Beginning in April of 2007, Leed entered into a series of roofing contracts with school districts and other local government entities including the Yonkers Police Department 3rd Precinct, the John Jay Historic House in Katonah, and Pawling Elementary School. In all, 18 local entities were billed approximately $11 million. Of that, Dominguez and Elledias are accused of keeping more than $2,275,500 that was intended for the workers on the jobs.
Government contracts in New York State require contractors to submit certified weekly payroll reports as a condition of payment. With each request for payment, Leed submitted certified weekly payroll reports signed by either Dominguez or Elledias. The payroll reports submitted by Leed failed to list most of the individuals who actually worked at the sites, but instead listed Dominguez, Elledias, and friends who never worked on the site. For the actual workers that were listed, only a fraction of the hours they worked were listed and the wages reported to authorities were well above what the defendants were in fact paying.
State Labor Commissioner Colleen C. Gardner said, "In this difficult economy when families are struggling, no one should be short changing workers out of their hard earned pay. We will continue to work with Attorney General Cuomo to ensure that the prevailing wage laws are complied with around New York State."
For the grand larceny charge, Dominguez and Elledias could each face sentences of up to 25 years in prison if convicted. For the E felony charges, they could face up to four years. The misdemeanor counts carry a potential sentence of one year in jail.
The arrests are part of Attorney General Cuomo's ongoing efforts to hold employers responsible for criminal violations of the laws affecting workers. Yesterday, Cuomo announced the arrest of Queens contractor Kostas "Gus" Andrikopoulos of Hara Electric Corporation for allegedly failing to pay more than $2 million in wages to employees who worked on numerous schools throughout New York City. More information on that case is available at www.ag.ny.gov/media_center/2010/may/may12a_10.html .
This case is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Rachel Gold; Investigators Andres Rodriguez and Louis Carter, under the supervision of Georgia Nurse; and Department of Labor Public Work Wage Investigator Jean Messier. The case is being supervised by Deputy Attorney General for Social Justice James Rogers, Deputy Criminal Prosecutions Bureau Chief Felice Sontupe, and Labor Bureau Chief Patricia Kakalec.
The charges against the defendants are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.