Andrew L. Troiano, of Lake Grove, stole more than $175G from Sandy victims, prosecutors say
An aerial view shows devastation in a Breezy Point neighborhood after superstorm Sandy. Authorities charged a Lake Grove contractor with stealing money meant for repairs in the neighborhood. Credit: Newsday File / Doug Kuntz
A Long Island contractor has been charged with stealing more than $175,000 from Breezy Point, Queens, homeowners victimized by superstorm Sandy, prosecutors said Thursday.
Andrew L. Troiano, 54, of Lake Grove, was arraigned Wednesday night before Queens Criminal Court Judge Bruna Dibiase on a complaint charging him with second-degree and third-degree misappropriation of funds of trust, second-degree, third-degree and fourth-degree grand larceny and first-degree scheme to defraud, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said in a statement.
Troiano pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance. He is due back in court on Feb. 2 and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted, officials said.
His company, Alt Design and Construction Consulting Inc., which at the time of the alleged crimes had offices in West Hempstead, and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., faces the same charges — with conviction punishable by fines of double the amount on each count, capped at $10,000 each, officials said.
After Sandy and ensuing fires devastated a section of Breezy Point in October 2012, authorities said, Troiano and his company contracted with at least three homeowners to rebuild their properties.
Although those homeowners paid a total of $178,750, payments were not made to subcontractors hired by Alt Design and Troiano — and in at least one case, a lien was placed against a property as a result.
One property was located on Graham Place, another on Fulton Walk and the third on Hillside Avenue. In the case of the Hillside Avenue site, authorities said, the homeowners had to pay a subcontractor to do soil testing. Although Alt Design had been paid by the homeowners, Troiano’s company never paid the subcontractor, officials said.
“New Yorkers are resilient people who can tolerate just about anything — even a hurricane thrown into their path,” Brown said the statement Thursday. “But while falling victim to a destructive act of nature can be viewed as an unavoidable occurrence, falling prey to an unscrupulous contractor after such a storm, as is alleged in this case, is an entirely different story. The defendants are accused of ripping off homeowners who lost their homes and virtually all their material possessions and had turned to the defendants for help in rebuilding their lives.”
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
Updated now Newsday travel writer Scott Vogel took the ferry over to Block Island for a weekend of fun.
Updated now Newsday travel writer Scott Vogel took the ferry over to Block Island for a weekend of fun.
