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Putnam County District Attorney Robert Tendy announced Thursday, Aug. 26, that Joseph Fregosi, of Fregosi Landscaping Inc., pled guilty to perjury and his corporation pled guilty to falsifying business records and failure to pay prevailing wages.
During the summer and fall of 2020, Fregosi Landscaping Inc. was a subcontractor on a project at the Putnam County Golf Course.
The Putnam County District Attorney’s Office received a complaint about the project and together with the New York State Police launched an investigation.
It was discovered that the company failed to pay its employees the prevailing wage rate as required by New York State law—cheating the workers of $46,889.
Fregosi sought to conceal this by filing certified reports containing false payroll information.
The paperwork indicated the money was paid to employees when in fact it had not been paid, the DA's Office said.
In addition to pleading guilty and paying the workers what they were owed, Fregosi and his company will pay $20,000 in fines.
The state police and the District Attorney’s office saw to it that the workers were eventually paid in full.
Tendy said: “Wage theft in New York, particularly on government projects, is a big problem and it takes hard-earned money away from those who deserve it the most. We won’t tolerate it."
He added that the investigation was the result of a tip and asked anyone with information about wage theft in our county to contact his office.
"Everything is kept confidential, and we take this very seriously," Tendy said.
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