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On Tuesday, Sept. 12, the Nassau County District Attorney announced that 58-year-old Glen Head resident Angelo Stanco, along with his Glen Cove company American Paving & Masonry Corp., were arraigned on charges including grand larceny for their alleged wage theft scheme.
According to the charges, in July 2018, Stanco and his company acknowledged to the NY Department of Labor that they had underpaid employees who worked on projects in Sands Point and Brookville.
They allegedly agreed to pay back $102,631 to the DOL to make up for the underpaid wages and interest gained on them.
On Dec. 7, 2018, the DOL issued 25 restitution checks to 22 employees based on the addresses that Stanco and the company provided.
However, between Dec. 13, 2018 and Jan. 3, 2019, Stanco allegedly demanded that several of his employees kick back the DOL checks to him as a condition of their future employment.
Additionally, several other employees never received their checks in the mail.
The DA’s Office claims that those checks were instead mailed to places that Stanco and his company controlled — including a P.O. Box.
Many of the kickback checks were said to have been fraudulently endorsed or double-endorsed by Stanco and deposited into bank accounts that he owned.
In total, the alleged kickbacks totaled $42,595 and affected several employees.
“Some of the defendant’s employees were not aware they were due thousands of dollars in wages,” said Nassau County DA Anne T. Donnelly.
“Labor cases matter, and my office will continue to expose shady business owners who fail to live up to their obligations.”
Both Stanco and American Paving were charged with the following:
- Third-degree grand larceny, six counts;
- Fourth-degree grand larceny;
- Failure to pay the prevailing wage; and
- Forgery, six counts.
All charges are felonies.
Stanco pleaded not guilty, as did the corporation through its attorney.
Both are due back in court on Wednesday, Oct. 11.
If convicted, Stanco could face two-and-a-third to seven years in prison plus a five-year prohibition from working on public work contracts.
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