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.

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