Putnam Landscaper Pleads Guilty to Cheating Workers at Golf Course
The principal owner of a Carmel-based landscaping company pled guilty Thursday to cheating employees of $46,889 while they worked on a project at the Putnam County Golf Course.
Joseph Fregosi of Fregosi Landscaping pled guilty to perjury in the third degree, while his corporation pled guilty to willful failure to pay the prevailing wage and falsifying business records in the first degree, both felonies.
As part of the plea, Fregosi agrees to pay the workers what they were owed and his company was fined $20,000.
“Wage theft in New York, particularly on government projects, is a big problem and it takes hard-earned money away from those who deserve it the most. We won’t tolerate it,” said Putnam County District Attorney Robert Tendy. “This investigation was the result of a tip—and we ask anyone with information about wage theft in our county to contact us. Everything is kept confidential, and we take this very seriously.”
The District Attorney’s Office received a complaint about the project, which was done in the summer and fall of 2020 and launched an investigation with the New York State Police.
During the investigation, it was discovered that Fregosi Landscaping failed to pay its employees the prevailing wage rate as required by New York State law, and Fregosi, through the corporation, sought to conceal it by filing certified reports containing false payroll information. The paperwork indicated the money was paid to employees, when, it fact, it had not been paid.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Nicholas LaStella and David Rosenberg.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
