D.A.: Queens Contractor Stiffed Workers $600K

The firm, M.A. Angeliades, which had been contracted to repair 11 subway stations, had 150 employees (though the District Attorney's office wouldn't say how many were defrauded). The firm is charged with falsifying business records and defrauding its employees by not paying them the local prevailing wage, which for laborers is $35 per hour plus $24.57 per hour for nights and overtime.

Instead, they paid laborers a flat fee of $20 -- while still billing the MTA for the legally required wage.

Three members of Local 740, the laborers' union, are also accused of taking part in the scheme. The District Attorney's office says the owners bribed the shop stewards of the union. The stewards would then falsify their shop steward reports by not reporting the overtime and weekend hours worked by the employees and, when the employees complained to them, didn't respond.

Management of the family-owned firm produced false payroll reports which omitted overtime and weekend hours of employees while keeping a separate overtime pay sheet for the omitted hours, and on payday provided each affected employee with two forms of payment: a regular, straight-time paycheck, and a cash envelope for overtime and weekend work. They also supplied false information to tax officials and to the MTA.

A Long Island-City-based contractor with ties to the MTA was indicted today for cheating its employees out of $600,000. (The firm has 150 employees; the District Attorney's office did not say how many workers were defrauded.)

The firm, M.A. Angeliades, had contracts to repair eleven subway stations. The firm is charged with falsifying business records and defrauding its employees by not paying them the local prevailing wage - which for laborers is $35 per hour plus $24.57 per hour for nights and overtime. Instead, they paid laborers a flat fee of $20 -- while still billing the MTA for the legally required wage.

Three members of Local 740, the laborers' union, are also accused of taking part in the scheme. The District Attorney's office says the owners bribed the shop stewards of the union. The stewards would then falsify their shop steward reports by not reporting the overtime and weekend hours worked by the employees and, when the employees complained to them, didn't respond.

Management of the family-owned firm produced false payroll reports which omitted overtime and weekend hours of employees while keeping a separate overtime pay sheet for the omitted hours, and provided each affected employee on pay day with both a regular, straight-time paycheck and a cash envelope for overtime and weekend work. They also supplied false information to tax officials and to the MTA.