NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — New York City is accusing an electrical company of breaking its contracts with the New York City Housing Authority and the School Construction Authority for lying about using union labor and underpaying employees, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
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The criminal complaint accuses Samco Electrical Corporation, Silvano Travalja, Giovanna Travalja and Zdravko Maglic of stealing over $1.7 million in wages from workers who were supposed to be paid a prevailing wage under city contracts.
The NYCHA and SCA contracts promised workers prevailing wages and supplemental benefits, but Samco allegedly used non-union, unqualified labor hired through two shell companies who were paid far less and weren’t provided adequate benefits.
The prevailing wage for electrical workers in New York City is between $110 and $116 an hour. From 2017 to 2021, Samco workers were paid between $25 and $50 an hour, according to prosecutors.
The company allegedly submitted payroll reports that lied about the wages and distributed fake union identification cards in an attempt to cover up their scheme.
Maglic, a foreman for Samco, reportedly tried to bribe an SCA investigator who was investigating the company in March 2021.
“The defendants cheated employees and the people of New York City by pocketing wages owed to workers,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “Diverting taxpayer dollars meant to fund high-quality work on our schools and public housing developments is a serious violation of the public trust.”
The defendants face charges of conspiracy, grand larceny, fraud and bribery for their alleged scheme.
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