Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a North Babylon asbestos removal and demolition labor company and its executive leadership were charged with failing to pay more than $140,000 in prevailing wages that they owed employees for public work projects at schools in the Merrick and Oceanside Union Free School Districts between 2019 and 2021. The company and its President were also charged with falsifying Unemployment Insurance Contribution returns with New York State resulting in a shortfall to the State’s Unemployment Insurance coffers of over $60,000.
Nicholas Barnett, 48, President of BJA Renovations Corp., located at 33 Dollar Drive in North Babylon; Dana Petrizzo, 44, vice president of the company; Joseph Demasco, 67, a manager at the company; and BJA Renovations Corp. were arraigned today before Judge Geoffrey Prime on charges of three counts of Labor Law § 220(3)(d)(i)(2) Failure to Pay the Prevailing Wage (an E felony).
Barnett and BJA Renovations Corp. are also charged with Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree (an E felony).
The defendants pleaded not guilty and were released on their own recognizance. They are due back in court on June 17, 2024. If convicted, they face up to 1-1/3 to 4 years in prison.
“BJA Renovations Corp. and its executive leadership allegedly cheated workers out of more than $140,000 of their rightfully earned wages across multiple public work projects in Merrick and Oceanside, undercutting their salary and benefits by as much as $37 per hour,” said DA Donnelly. “Protecting the prevailing wage is essential to the integrity of our labor industry. NCDA is committed to safeguarding the livelihoods of our hardworking labor force and holding companies and their employees accountable when they attempt to defraud workers and deceive government institutions.”
DA Donnelly said that, according to the charges, between June 2019 and November 2019, BJA Renovations Corp. was performing work on public work projects at the Merrick Union Free School District as a subcontractor at the Birch School, Roland A. Chatterton School, and Norman J. Levy Lakeside School. Certified payroll records were filed with the Merrick Union Free School District on behalf of the defendant and allegedly signed by Petrizzo as Vice President.
The pay rate recorded on the payroll records was $44.00 per hour for Hazardous Construction Laborer and $37.44 for a Construction Laborer. The actual hourly pay provided to employees was allegedly only $35.00 per hour and employees were paid in mostly cash.
The weekly payroll was delivered to the worksite by Demasco. Nicholas Barnett was also the site supervisor for the Merrick project.
The correct prevailing wage rate under New York State Labor Laws during this time period for a Hazardous Material Laborer was $52.70 per hour in wages and benefits and $68.96 per hour in wages and benefits for a Construction Laborer. The work performed at Birch School and Normal J. Levy resulted in an underpayment of prevailing wages totaling $56,012. An underpayment of prevailing wages of $32,547 resulted from work performed at Roland A. Chatterton School.
Additionally, between June 2021 and September 2021 the company performed work on a project at the Oceanside Union Free School District, specifically at Oceanside High School. Payroll records filed with the school district, and allegedly signed by Petrizzo, recorded a rate of pay of $44.00 per hour for Hazardous Construction Laborers and $37.44 an hour for Construction Laborers. Employees were allegedly paid $35.00 per hour in cash and sometimes by check. Payroll deliveries were made by Demasco and the site supervisor on the project was Barnett.
The correct prevailing wage rate under New York State Labor Laws during this time period for a Hazardous Material Laborer was $52.70 per hour in wages and benefits and $74.70 per hour in wages and benefits for a Construction Laborer. The work performed at Oceanside High School resulted in an underpayment of the prevailing wage totaling $54,084.
On February 21, 2020, BJA Renovations and Barnett as President allegedly prepared and filed a Quarterly Combined Withholding, Wage Reporting, and Unemployment Insurance Return with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and the New York State Department of Labor recording that the total wages paid to their fifteen employees between July 1, 2019, and September 30, 2019, totaled $52,904.
Certified payroll records for BJA Renovations Corp. for the third quarter of 2019 recorded a total payroll paid to four of the employees listed on the return and eight employees not listed for a total of more than $185,000.
The defendants surrendered to NCDA Detective Investigators this morning.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Investigative Counsel and Attorney-in-Charge of Labor Richard Balletta under the supervision of Bureau Chief Maureen McCormack of the Revenue, Auto, Insurance, and Labor Crime Bureau, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Investigations Division Rick Whelan. Demasco was represented by 18B at arraignment. Petrizzo is represented by Michael Franzese, Esq. Burnett was represented by James Iannone, Esq. at arraignment. BJA Renovations Corp. was represented by Robert Schalk, Esq. at arraignment.
The charges are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.