Northport Man Pleads Guilty In Connection With Labor Crimes: SCDA

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — A Northport man and his contracting company pleaded guilty in connection with several labor-related crimes, Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini announced Friday. The crimes included failure to pay prevailing wage supplements to a benefit fund and unemployment insurance contributions.

Richard Hall, 58, pleaded guilty on Thursday to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to a conditional discharge. His company, Regal Contracting Inc., pleaded guilty to first-degree scheme to defraud (a class E felony) and was issued a $10,000 fine. Following the plea, Hall and Regal Contracting Inc. were required to pay $7,406.64 in restitution to Laborers Local 66; $28,935.18 to the New York State Department of Labor (NYS DOL); and $48,853 to the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF).

"Let this be a lesson to anyone doing business in Suffolk County: If you are not paying your fair share to your workers, or to the programs and agencies that make sure workers are safe and protected, we will be coming for you," Sini said in news release. "We will not tolerate greedy corporations gaining an unfair advantage by not paying their dues. I want to thank Assistant District Attorney Shaun McCready and the team who investigated and prosecuted this case for obtaining a great result that ensures the full repayment of stolen funds to Laborers Local 66, the New York State Department of Labor and the New York State Insurance Fund."

Evidence found that in summer 2018, Hall and Regal Contracting failed to pay $7,404.64 in benefits to the Laborers Local 66 Benefit Fund for multiple workers on five different projects, authorities said.

The investigation also revealed that Regal Contracting owed more than $28,000 in unpaid unemployment insurance fund contributions to the NYS DOL and owed more than $48,000 in unpaid workers’ compensation premiums to the NYSIF, which made Hall ineligible to take out any new policies, authorities said. Hall then incorporated a new company, Triangle Enterprises of Long Island Inc., and fraudulently omitted his ownership of the company in order to obtain a new workers’ compensation insurance policy, authorities said.

Hall and his companies were charged as part of a multi-agency crackdown on labor-related crimes conducted by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in collaboration with the NYS DOL, NYSIF and the Suffolk County Police Department in March 2020.

Several of the cases were referred by members of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office’s Labor Advisory Board. The Labor Advisory Board, which was launched by Sini in June 2018, consists of approximately 35 union and non-union labor representatives who meet with the District Attorney’s Office on a quarterly basis to work on matters of mutual concern for law enforcement and the labor community. The Board also serves as a conduit for the labor community to refer allegations of criminal activity involving labor law and other violations to the District Attorney’s Office.

Sini urged anyone who believes he or she is a victim of a labor-related crime, such as wage theft, to contact the Labor Crime Unit at 631-853-4232 or via email to InfoDA@SuffolkCountyNY.gov.