Syosset trio charged with green scheme

Three Long Island men face both criminal and civil securities charges for allegedly bilking investors of $26 million in a green-themed Ponzi scheme involving water-filtering paving stones.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said 140 investors were bilked into investing in PermaPave Companies of Syosset based on false claims that the company had a backlog of orders and a rosy financial outlook.

Company executives Eric Aronson of Syosset, Robert Kondratick of Syosset and Vincent Buonauro of West Islip were named Thursday in an SEC complaint filed in Manhattan, and were charged with wire fraud in Brooklyn federal court.

Aronson, 41, was convicted of a $3.4-million investment fraud in 1999. He was covered in Newsday several times over the last decade for his new business, DASH Inc., a life-coaching company. The SEC said he used proceeds of the paving fraud to pay restitution to victims of his previous fraud.

Aronson, Kondratick and Buonauro also used investors' money to pay off previous investors, buy luxury cars, pay for trips to Las Vegas and the Bahamas and buy jewelry, the SEC charged.

The trio promised investors returns of 7.8 percent to 33 percent, claiming there was tremendous demand for the paving product they were planning to import from Australia. In fact, the government said, there was "little demand."

Kondratick and Buonauro were both released on $500,000 bonds after court appearances on Thursday. On Friday, a magistrate ordered the release of Aronson on a $2-million secured bond over the objections of prosecutors.

Aronson's lawyer said he was not guilty and called the case the "criminalization of a well-meaning business venture" that didn't work. Kondratick's lawyer said his client "had no dealings with any of the victims and he looks forward to clearing his name."

Buonauro's lawyer could not be reached for comment.