Beach Owner Charged for Underpaying Workers by Half a Million Dollars, Brooklyn Construction Company On 15 Construction Contracts, the Defendant Found Guilty of Paying Far Less Than Normal Wage
Eric Gonzalez, Acting Brooklyn District Attorney made an announcement saying that a construction company based in Brooklyn and its owner have been charged for not paying the employees as per normal wage. The owner had stolen more than $560,000 in wages all together. The NYC School Construction Authority and other government agencies were financing these projects.
The Acting DA said that the defendants were trusted with public funds which were meant to be spent on public projects. In exchange of these funds, the company promised to pay the employees according to the prevailing wages. However, the defendants made a breach in the contract by fabricating authorized records and keeping the rightfully earned wages of the employees. This prosecution displays that all those employers who think they can get away with stealing the wages of their employees are mistakes. Gonzalez also said that they will make sure all employees are fully compensated.
Commissioner Peters made a statement saying that the owner of the construction company not only exploited the City contacts, but also filled up his own wallet with the wages of his employees. Some of the workers were even paid less than a third of what they should have received per hour for their hard work. Prevailing wage theft is an insensitive crime that defies the workers of wages and compromises the reliability of construction sites. He also mentioned that DOI will ensure that all companies who ignore this law are brought to justice.
Michael Riglietti of Long Beach, New York was identified as the defendant and the name of his company is MSR Electrical Construction Company. Both were presented in front of Danny Chun, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice and charged for first-degree scheme to defraud, second-degree grand larceny, first degree forging business records, first-degree giving a false instrument for filing and desecration of NY State Labor Law Section 220. The defendants are required to come back to court on 24th May, 2017.
As per the investigation, the defendants were given 15 public works contracts between Dec 2017 and Dec 2015. In 13 public schools, the defendants were contracted by the New York City SCA to complete electrical work. Among them were 4 Brooklyn schools as well. Other contracts were given by NY State Office of General Services and Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The defendants stole above $560,000 in total that should have actually been paid to the employees. On the payroll reports given to New York City SCA, OGS, and MTA, the defendants had paid all the workers as per the normal wage rate of $51-$54 per hour and also benefits of $42.45-$50.13. In reality, the defendants were paying the employees $13.50-$25 per hour and no overtime was given.
All persons are presumed innocent until proven otherwise by a court of law.
