Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced today the indictment and arrest of ROBERT BERTUGLIA, JR., and the indictment of LARO MAINTENANCE CORPORATION (“LARO”).

LARO is owned by ROBERT BERTUGLIA, JR.  LARO has worked for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (“Port Authority”) for approximately 10 years, at a number of Port Authority facilities, earning more than $150 million providing cleaning and maintenance services.   LARO entered into a new contract with the Port Authority to clean the Port Authority Bus Terminal effective January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2007. 

The contract with the Port Authority required LARO to purchase approximately $400,000 worth of new and unused equipment to perform the contract.  Pursuant to the contract, LARO would be reimbursed for the new equipment by the Port Authority over the course of the contract.  LARO calculated that by including $.76 per man hour worked by a station cleaner, it would recuperate the cost of the new equipment over the three-year contract. 

LARO submitted monthly invoices to the Port Authority that contained the cost of the equipment that it was required to purchase. 

An investigation begun by the Port Authority Inspector General determined that LARO did not purchase a majority of the required equipment.  The invoices submitted by LARO charged the Port Authority for over $200,000 worth equipment that LARO never bought. The Inspector General referred the case to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Specifically, the seven-count indictment charges LARO and BERTUGLIA, 53, with one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, three counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony, and three counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, a class E felony. A class C felony is punishable by up to 5 to 15 years in prison and a class E felony is punishable by up to 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison.

Mr. Morgenthau thanked the Port Authority for their assistance in the investigation, including Port Authority Inspector General Robert E. Van Etten, Director of Investigations Michael Nestor, Investigative Manager Ed Kennedy, Supervising Investigator Jeffrey Schaffler and Forensic Auditor Fred Ferone.

Assistant District Attorney Elyse Ruzow, who is assigned to the District Attorney’s Labor Racketeering Unit, is in charge of the prosecution under the supervision of Michael Scotto, Chief of the Labor Racketeering Unit.  

Defendant Information:

ROBERT A. BERTUGLIA JR., 06/25/1955
15 THE MOOR
EAST ISLIP, N.Y. 11730

LARO SERVICE SYSTEMS
LARO MAINTENANCE CORP
241 SKIP LANE
BAY SHORE, N.Y. 11706

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