Politics & Government

Nyack Landscaper Accused In Wage Fraud Scheme

D.A.: More than $130,000 skimmed on contracts for public projects in Rockland and Westchester.

A Nyack landscaper has been charged with grand larceny for failing to pay state-required prevailing wages for more than 80 workers involved with maintaining public-owned properties in Rockland and Westchester counties.

Rockland County District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe said Stuart Chaitin, 47, of 617 N. Broadway, Nyack, is accused of falsely reporting that he was paying the required wage rates and then skimming the money from workers. A state Department of Labor audit found that certified payrolls were falsified, leading to the underpayment of workers by over $137,807.77.

Zugibe said Chaitin, operating under the name Ascape Landscaping and Construction Corp., took steps to hide the true payments to workers from the state Department of Labor between 2006 and 2010.

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"Companies doing business with local municipalities and state agencies are legally bound to pay their employees the fair and prevailing wage,” Zugibe said. “In this case, the defendant chose to enrich himself at the expense of his own workers. This arrest will serve notice to all contractors that Rockland County, New York State and the federal government will not tolerate wage fraud or any other cheating on public projects."

Chaitin used the state’s competitive bidding process to obtain outdoor maintenance contracts for the State Department of Transportation, the Department of Environmental Conservation, MTA Metro-North Railroad and the Peekskill Central School District. A requirement of those contracts, Zugibe said, was that Chaitin pay all of the employees in the public works jobs the prevailing wage levels set by the state and the supplemental benefit rate for overtime work.

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Contractors and sub-contractors on such government projects are required to submit certified payroll records to the state. Zugibe said that during the public works jobs in which Ascape was hired, site visits by investigators revealed that workers were not being paid the prevailing wage. Further investigation showed that wages paid by Chaitin were inconsistent with third party reports, statements from the workers and information from bank records.

Chaitin’s arrest came from an investigation by the Rockland County Special Investigations Unit, the state Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Labor, OIG, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations and the state Department of Taxation and Finance.

Chaitin was arraigned in the Clarkstown Town Court in New City and was released on $300,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear at a Town Court hearing on Monday.

Zugibe said Chaitin faces up to 15 years in state prison if convicted on the grand larceny charge.


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