Glen Cove Company, President Charged In Wage Kickback Scheme: NCDA

MINEOLA, NY — A Glen Cove business and its president were charged in a wage kickback scheme and arraigned Tuesday, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.

Angelo Stanco, 58, of Glen Head, and his company, American Paving & Masonry Corp., face charges of grand larceny, failure to pay the prevailing wage, and forgery. He pleaded not guilty. If convicted, Stanco faces up to 2-and one-third to seven years in prison, as well as a five-year prohibition from bidding upon or working on public work contracts.

Stanco and his business were accused of demanding employees kickback checks they were entitled to receive from the New York State Department of Labor because of the company’s failure to pay the prevailing wage on public work projects in Brookville and Sands Point, Donnelly said.

The kickbacks totaled $42,595 and affected seven employees, the DA said.

"A prevailing wage ensures that employees on public work sites in our state are compensated fairly and appropriately for their hard work," Donnelly said in a news release. "This defendant and his company allegedly failed to abide by the law, underpaying employees their rightful wages, and then doubled down on this unlawful behavior by demanding kickbacks, threatening employees with termination if they did not comply, or stealing restitution checks outright. Some of the defendant's employees were not aware they were due thousands of dollars in wages. Labor cases matter, and my office will continue to expose shady business owners who fail to live up to their obligations."

According to the charges, Stanco, on July 24, 2018, executed two stipulations with the New York State Department of Labor, Public Work Bureau, acknowledging that he and his business underpaid prevailing wages owed to employees on public work projects in the Villages of Brookville and Sands Point, Donnelly said. The commissioner of labor ordered the stipulations on Sept. 26, 2018, and Stanco and his company agreed to remit $102,631 to the department for the underpaid prevailing wages and interest, prosecutors said.

The department issued 25 restitution checks for the underpayments and interest to 22 employees on Dec. 7, 2018, investigators said. Stanco and American provided the employees’ addresses to the department, allowing the agency to mail the checks directly to the underpaid employees, officials said.

Between Dec. 13, 2018 and Jan. 3, 2019, Stanco was accused of demanding several employees kickback the department of labor checks to Stanco and American as a condition of their future employment, authorities said.

Other employees never received their restitution checks because they were mailed to places controlled by Stanco and American, including a U.S. Post Office box and a mail store box, Donnelly said.

Many of the kicked-back checks were fraudulently endorsed by Stanco or double-endorsed with the his name and deposited into accounts he controlled, prosecutors said.

"Wage theft is a betrayal of hardworking New Yorkers who deserve fair compensation for their efforts," New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said. "In collaboration with the Nassau County District Attorney’s office, we were able to hold these wrongdoers accountable for their actions. In New York State, we are committed to safeguarding the rights of all workers and we will not tolerate any form of mistreatment."

Stanco surrendered to NCDA detective investigators on Tuesday, the DA's office said.

On Sept. 6, the New York State Penal Law was amended to add the theft of wages to the definition of the larceny statute.

Under the new provisions, any employer who does not pay the proper minimum wage, overtime rate, or promised wage, can be charged with a crime, and depending upon the amount of the wage theft, face a potential jail sentence of up to 25 years. The statute allows prosecutors to aggregate the total amount of wages stolen from the entire workforce to determine the class of larceny to charge – from petit larceny for under $1,000 to a Class B Felony for wage theft in excess of $1 million.

"This law is a great tool in the battle against wage theft and labor trafficking," Donnelly said. "This is a tremendous win for Nassau County workers who are often underpaid, or even unpaid, by unscrupulous employers. Any worker in Nassau who believes they have been a victim of wage theft is encouraged to call our complaint and wage hotline at 516-571-2149."

Stanco and the corporation were charged with six counts of third-degree grand larceny, one count of fourth-degree grand larceny, one count of failure to pay the prevailing wage, and six counts of second-degree forgery.

Stanco was released on his own recognizance. The corporation also pleaded not guilty through its attorney. Stanco is represented by Vito Palmieri.

Stanco and his company are due back in court on Oct. 11.