Ronald Bartiromo And Raymond D'Auria, Owners Of R3 Electrical, Inc., On Staten Island, Face Potential Prison Time For Underpaying Workers And Filing False Payroll Reports
Schneiderman: My Office Will Bring Charges Against Contractors Who Stole From Taxpayers And Hard-Working New Yorkers
NEW YORK ‑ Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the arrests of Ronald Bartiromo and Raymond D'Auria, the owners of Staten Island electrical contractor R3 Electrical, Inc., on felony grand-larceny charges. The owners and the company are charged with failing to pay more than $200,000 in legally required wages on projects upgrading the science labs at five City University of New York campuses and boilers at the city-run Rutgers Houses on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. If convicted, the contractors face up to 15 years in prison.
"My office will take aggressive action, including criminal charges where appropriate, against government contractors who cheat their employees and falsify records as they attempt to conceal their misdeeds,"Attorney General Schneiderman said. “Protecting taxpayer dollars and the livelihoods of hard-working New Yorkers is a priority for this office.”
Bartiromo, D'Auria and R3 Electrical, Inc., located at 541 Port Richmond Avenue, were hired as an electrical subcontractor on the 2008-2009 CUNY project and then on a 2009 job funded by the New York Power Authority to upgrade the boilers at the Rutgers Houses, a New York City Housing Authority development.
New York Labor Law and the contract terms for both projects required the defendants to pay prevailing wages and to submit certified payroll reports showing all hours worked and wages paid. The defendants failed to pay the legally-required wages on both projects to at least seven employees, who worked as electricians, resulting in total underpayments of over $200,000. The defendants submitted payroll reports to CUNY and NYPA falsely claiming they paid all the workers on the project the required wage. That underpayment was taxpayer dollars that should have gone to the workers.
New York's prevailing wage laws seek to ensure that government contractors pay wages and benefits that are comparable to the local norms for a given trade.
Defendants Bartiromo and D'Auria, both 48, were arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court today. They each face two counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a Class "C" felony; two counts of Violation of Labor Law Section 220(3)(d)(i)(3), a Class "D" felony 20 counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, a Class "E" felony; and 20 counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a Class "E" felony. They face a maximum prison term of 5 to 15 years. The company faces the same charges and fines of up to $10,000.
The Attorney General thanks the City University of New York, Office of Facilities Planning, Construction and Management, Department of Vendor Integrity and Investigations for their assistance in this investigation. The case was investigated by the office’s Deputy Director Joseph P. Piazza and Investigator Avastie Medina, under the supervision of Director Vincent Green. In addition, the Attorney General thanks the New York Power Authority and the New York State Department of Labor for their cooperation.
The case is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Meredith McGowan, under the supervision of Section Chief Felice Sontupe, Labor Bureau Chief Terri Gerstein and First Deputy of Affirmative Litigation Janet Sabel.
These charges are accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.