Case Against Southampton Contractor Accused Of Not Paying Prevailing Wages Dismissed: DA's Office

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — Charges against a Southampton contractor who was indicted last year after he was accused of not paying the prevailing wage to his employees have been dismissed, his attorney said.

According to a release by New York City-based attorney Michael T. Cornacchia, an indictment charging Robert "Bob" Terry and his company, Terry Contracting & and Materials Inc., after an "alleged failure to pay legally mandated wages on a Brookhaven Town public works project and allegedly covering up this failure by submitting improper payrolls has been dismissed by Suffolk County Court Chief Judge Richard Ambro."

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney's office confirmed that the case was dismissed by the judge.

"In his decision, dated October 16, 2025, Judge Ambro found that the integrity of the grand jury proceedings resulting in the indictment had been impaired by irregularities, and the New York labor law used to charge Terry and his company was unconstitutional," a release from Cornacchia said. "Significantly, as noted by Terry’s attorney, Michael Cornacchia, Judge Ambro found that there was a lack of evidence to prove that Bob Terry, or his company committed any crimes or had any intent to do so. "

In response to the indictment’s dismissal, Bob Terry stated: "My family and I always believed in our system of justice, and our belief was born out by Judge Ambro’s decision. We are thankful that the truth has finally come out that my company and I did not commit any crimes and are innocent of the now dismissed charges. We are grateful to our many clients, employees and friends who stood by us during this challenging period. We look forward to continuing to serve our community as a reliable and principled employer."

Terry was initially indicted last year after he was accused of not paying the prevailing wage to his employees, according to Tierney at the time.

Terry spoke out in December in the hopes of setting the record straight.

Robert Terry, 65, was indicted on charges including willful failure to pay the prevailing wage rate, after reportedly misclassifying his employees’ work categories on certified payrolls, resulting in a about $83,694 in underpayments, the DA said.

According to the DA's investigation, between March and August 2018, Terry was a contractor at the Davis Park Marina Improvement project, a public works contract that required the contractor to pay his employees the proper prevailing wage rate, based on the tasks that they performed on the project, Tierney said.

Additionally, he was responsible for completing certified payrolls that affirmed he paid his employees the proper prevailing wages while they worked on the project, the DA said.

Instead, Terry was accused of classifying his employees under the wage rate for "laborers," which is lower than the wage rate for "dock builders," though the employees were performing tasks necessitating the higher salary rate, Tierney said.

And, even though additional employees of Terry Contracting & Materials, Inc. worked as crane operators on the project, they were reportedly unlawfully omitted from the certified payrolls, the DA initially said.

After an investigation, the New York State Department of Labor determined that Terry and hiscompany owed the employees more than $80,000 for failing to pay them as dock builders, Tierney said.

Terry and his corporation, Terry Contracting & Materials, Inc. were arraigned on the indictment before Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei on charges including one count of willful failure to pay the prevailing wage rate and supplement, and first-degree falsifying a business record, both Class E felonies; and second-degree falsifying a business record, a Class A misdemeanor, Tierney said.

Cornacchia reached out to Patch with a statement from Terry after the indictment.

"I write to correct the inaccurate and false statements made by District Attorney Raymond Tierney in his press release, wherein he announced that my company, Terry Contracting and Materials, Inc. and I were charged with certain alleged criminal conduct concerning payment of our employees," Terry wrote.

He continued: "The first, most glaring and prejudicial misstatement is that I 'pocketed money' that should have gone to my employees. I was portrayed as a thief exploiting my workers. I did not, nor did anyone, 'pocket' money belonging to our employees."

According to Terry, the amount representing that "which is allegedly owed to our workers is being held, with our consent, by the Town of Brookhaven pending the resolution of this dispute. The charges in the indictment are the product of an ongoing dispute my company has had with the New York State Department of Labor for the last several years over whether some of our employees should have been paid as 'dockbuilders' rather than laborers on a project for restoring the dock at Brookhaven’s Davis Park Marina during 2018."

Terry then responded to what he said was "another misleading statement made by the DA — that we paid our workers 'as laborers not dockbuilders'; four of our employees were, in fact, paid as dockbuilders, given that they occupied a central role in the building of the dock. When all the facts finally come out it will be clear that just because a laborer did labor work on the dock project, it did not make them a dockbuilder deserving of commensurate pay."

In addition, Terry said, the DA "further charges that there was a nefarious scheme to cheat two employees who operated cranes of their rightful pay. However, he omitted that one of the employees was my son who is an engineer and works as a project manager and the other was one of my partners in our business. Neither of them expected to be paid for their occasional use of a crane since they both were well compensated as company executives. Neither was cheated of any compensation, nor did they complain that they were so. The accusation by the DA that I would cheat my son and business partner is patently absurd and a distortion of the facts."

Terry said that he started his business in Suffolk County 38 years ago, "where I continue to reside with my wife and family. We are, and have always been, a reliable, respected and honest employer. We’re proud of the work we have performed on both public and private construction projects and have never been accused of underpaying employees’ wages or hours. As a life-long member of this community who, in all my sixty-five years, has never been arrested or charged with a crime, I have great respect for our laws and those who enforce them. As such, I believe that I will receive a fair opportunity in a courtroom to prove our innocence and maintain our hard-earned reputation. While we do so, we will continue as the vibrant, growing small business, committed to our employees and the communities we serve," Terry said.

The DA declined to comment further.