Contractor pleads guilty in $99K Suffolk ‘wage theft’ case
A contractor pleaded guilty Monday in Suffolk County District Court to a felony charge of willfully failing to pay prevailing wages and supplemental benefits, along with a related offense. The charges stem from a public works project in which more than $99,000 was unlawfully withheld from employees, officials said.
Geraldo DeAlmeida, of South River, NJ, and his corporation, R&L Concrete, pleaded guilty to the charges, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said.
DeAlmeida and his company served as subcontractors on a project from November 25, 2019, to April 10, 2020, involving the construction of an administrative building in the Longwood Central School District, whose administrative offices are in Middle Island.
“This conviction reaffirms my commitment to protecting workers’ rights by combatting wage theft,” Tierney said in a news release about the guilty plea.