Massive NYC Construction Kickback Scheme Stole $5M, DA Says

NEW YORK CITY — A massive New York City construction industry bribery scheme took in $7 million in kickbacks, robbed developers of millions and corrupted dozens of contracts, prosecutors said.

Fifty people and companies face a conspiracy charge in an 83-count indictment filed Wednesday by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The indictment accuses construction executive Robert Basilice, 51, of heading a years-long conspiracy in which subcontractors inflated bids to bilk developers.

“In total, the defendants stole more than $5 million from the developers over the course of the conspiracy,” Bragg said.

"When the bidding progress process is rigged, we all lose."

The defendants — 24 people and 26 companies, in total — were scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.

Court documents state the scheme began in April 2013 as Baselice used his vice president position at his construction firm to manipulate bids and steer more than $100 million in subcontracts and change orders to his conspirators.

Baselice's employer is unnamed in court documents, but lists projects it managed, such as the FiDi Hotel and the Hilton Club's The Central. Those were managed by The Rinaldi Group, according to the firm's website.

Rinaldi Group representatives didn't return Patch's request for comment.

Baselice put subcontractors who were part of his conspiracy on the firm's project bidders' list, documents state. From there, he gave them inside information about competitors' bids and told them to raise their own bids to include a kickback, prosecutors said.

Those inflated bids were then forward to Baselice's firm, while he lobbied developers to select his co-conspirators, documents state. Baselice then participated in final negotiations, during which he pretended to lobby those corrupt subcontractors to lower their prices, Bragg said.

“He called this, we allege, his ‘dog and pony show,’” Bragg said, pointing to a text message as evidence during a news conference.

Crooked subcontractors paid kickbacks to Baselice, his own company DVA Group, LLC, and other companies owned by Baselice's associates, Louis Astuto, 58, and Paul Noto, 43, prosecutors said.

Astuto and Noto sent some ill-gotten gains to companies owned by Frank Camuso, 59, and his family, authorities said.

Subcontractors paid more than $4.2 million in kickbacks to Baselice and more than $2.8 million to other associates such as Astuto and Noto, prosecutors said.

The bribes at times led to subpar work being completed by subcontractors, officials said. One subcontractor, for example, that had only done small residential job tasked with installing a heating and cooling system for The Remy, a 32-story condominium tower in Chelsea, prosecutors said.

One subcontractor charged in the indictment — Alba Services — was singled out during Bragg's news conference by a representative for a union that has long accused the demolition company of exploiting immigrant workers.

Mike Vatter, an organizer for Laborers' Local 79, told Bragg during the conference that Alba was involved in clearing debris left from a blaze that recently engulfed an NYPD auto pound and evidence room.

“Calling in a tip: I appreciate it," Bragg said with apparent amusement.

Union officials later released a statement blasting Alba in which they said the company routinely deprived Latino immigrant demolition workers at Terminal Warehouse in Chelsea of health care during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Alba went so far as making it known to its entire workforce that it was offering cash payment to any workers who could provide information leading to the arrest and conviction of any coworker who deigned to file a claim for workman’s compensation against the company," said Mike Prohaska, the union's business manager, in a statement.

"It should not take a criminal indictment to show the serious risks posed by hiring irresponsible contractors like Alba."

An Alba company representative didn't return a call for comment.