Amityville Contractor Admits Stealing Wages From West Islip Middle School Employees, Must Repay $13K: DA

WEST ISLIP, NY — An Amityville contractor pleaded guilty to a theft charge after prosecutors said he underpaid employees who worked on a public works painting project at West Islip’s Masera Middle School.

Rand Strollo, 62, of Amityville, pleaded guilty Tuesday to petit larceny, a Class A misdemeanor, after failing to pay the proper prevailing wage rate, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said. Prosecutors said the case resulted in $13,380 in restitution paid to Strollo’s former employees.

Under New York law, the intentional withholding of legally required wages is classified as larceny, even when the money is taken through underpayment rather than physical theft.

Under New York law, larceny charges are based on the amount taken in each instance, and the wage losses tied to individual workers fell below the felony threshold for grand larceny.

According to the investigation and Strollo’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, prosecutors said Strollo, as the owner of RJ Painting Inc., served as a contractor on a public works project at Masera Middle School between April 12, 2024, and May 30, 2024. The public works contract required Strollo to pay employees the correct prevailing wage rate for the hours worked on the project, including holidays, Tierney said.

Instead, prosecutors said Strollo failed to pay employees for the correct number of hours worked and did not pay the proper prevailing wage rate for work performed on Memorial Day.

During an investigation by the District Attorney’s Office, officials also uncovered additional wage issues tied to two other public works projects completed between 2022 and 2024, prosecutors said. In those jobs, Strollo similarly failed to pay workers the correct hours and the proper prevailing wage rate, the DA’s office said.

Strollo was arrested on Nov. 21, 2025, by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors said. On Tuesday, Jan. 13, Strollo pleaded guilty before Acting County Court Judge Edward Hennessey, Tierney said.

As a condition of the plea, the District Attorney’s Office required Strollo to pay $6,136 back to 12 employees from whom wages were withheld on the Masera Middle School project, prosecutors said.

Strollo also paid an additional $7,244 in restitution connected to employees on the two other public works projects, according to the DA’s office. In total, prosecutors said Strollo returned $13,380 to his employees.

Strollo was represented by Brian Griffin, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“My office’s Labor Unit, working together with the Department of Labor, returned to the hard-working employees the proper wages owed to them by this company,” Tierney said. “We will continue to fight against the fraudulent and illegal practices of contractors when they fail to pay employees for their honest labor.”