Long Island Contractor Arrested For Underpaying Wages On Port Authority Project
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Inspector General Robert E. Van Etten Thursday announced the arraignment of a Long Island construction contractor on two felony and two misdemeanor charges stemming from the underpayment of wages to 13 laborers in excess of $25,000 on a public construction project.
Gerard Ippolito, president of Liberty Tree Service, Inc., and his corporation face numerous charges, including Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree the a Class E felony – and Failing to Pay Wages, a misdemeanor. The defendants entered not guilty pleas today in Queens County Criminal Court.
According to court papers, between October 18, 2004 and December 31, 2005, employees of Liberty Tree Services, Inc. worked on a Port Authority project involving landscaping for the John F. Kennedy International Airport Van Wyck Corridor Beautification Program, which followed the path of the AirTrain. The contract was subject to the state’s prevailing wage law, which dictates the hourly rates that must be paid to employees on public work projects.
The weekly certified payroll records submitted by the defendants in the case showed the workers being paid the legal hourly prevailing wage rates of $51.11 per hour. However, the contractors’ employees were actually paid hourly wages much less then the prescribed hourly rate. The defendants are charged with filing false certified payroll records in an effort to conceal underpayments of $27,484.72 to 13 employees.
The case was investigated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Inspector General’s Office and then referred to the New York State Attorney General’s Office for prosecution.
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