Rockland Psychiatric Center Contractor Accused of Cheating Workers Out Of $298,000

A Rockland Psychiatric Center contractor has been arrested on charges he defrauded workers out of $298,000 in wages and benefits and submitted falsified records to the state to cover up the theft, state and county officials said today.

Rockland County District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe and state Labor Commissioner Colleen C. Gardner said Earl Galbreath Jr., 70, of 640 Ashford Ave., Ardsley, failed to pay the legally-required prevailing wages for 66 construction workers renovating a Rockland Children's Psychiatric dormitory building in Orangeburg through his company, Abelcraft of New York Inc.

Galbreath is charged with one count of second-degree grand larceny, a felony. He faces up to 15 years in state prison if convicted.

The Rockland County Special Investigations Unit and the state Labor Department began investigating Galbreath after receiving several complaints that his firm was not paying the employees the required prevailing wage.

"Protecting Rockland County's labor force is a major priority for this office," said Zugibe. "Insuring that the hard-working men and women of our labor community receive a fair wage for a fair day's work is an integral part of the American dream. This arrest sends a strong message: all violations of laws involving public works projects in Rockland County will be aggressively prosecuted."

Zugibe said Galbreath had entered into a state contract in 2008 after submitting the lowest bid to do masonry work. State Labor Law and the contract required Galbreath to pay all of the employees working at the construction site a prevailing wage as set by the state, depending on the type of work they were performing. He was also required to provide the workers with benefits, such as health insurance, or the pay the cash equivalent of the benefits.

During the time of construction, from July 2008 to February 2009, New York State paid Galbreath for the work completed on the job site based on false information that he would pay the correct prevailing wage to his workers. Instead, Zugibe said Galbreath regularly took money from the state that was due to the employees and pocketed a portion of it in violation of the law.

To cover up the theft, Galbreath is accused of falsifying payroll information submitted to the state. Certified payrolls submitted by Galbreath failed to list which workers were actually working and falsely stated that the company was paying the workers cash in lieu of benefits, when they were not, Zugibe said.

The certified payrolls also contained false information about which days and how long the employees worked. In some instances, the workers were not paid any salary, Zugibe said.

"This past Labor Day we honored the hard work and the past struggles of our workers, and we were reminded of the importance of enforcing our labor laws against unscrupulous employers who cheat their workers out of their hard earned pay," said Gardner. "With the help of District Attorneys like D.A. Zugibe, we were able to stop this dishonest contractor and will work together to get every last dollar owed to these workers and their families."

Galbreath was arrested by detectives from Rockland County Special Investigations Unit on a felony arrest warrant and arraigned in the Orangetown Town Court before Judge Richard Finning, who ordered Galbreath held in the Rockland County Correctional Center in New City on $300,000 bail. Galbreath is due to return to court for a hearing on Wednesday.