Investigations

On December 21, 2011, Gerardo and Vincent Fusella, brothers, were indicted in U.S. District Court, Brooklyn, New York.  The 31-count Indictment charges Vincent and Gerardo Fusella with multiple counts of conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, filing false tax returns, embezzlement of union benefit funds, and false statements on projects receiving Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant funds.  Vincent and Gerardo Fusella are co-owners and operators of Fusella Group LLC., a New Jersey-based trucking company. 

It is alleged that between 2007 and 2009, the Fusella brothers engaged in a series of fraud schemes in connection with its subcontract work on the Port Authority New York New Jersey (PANYNJ) World Trade Center Transportation Hub project (WTC Hub Project).  Fusella Group is alleged to have underreported the number of hours their employees trucked, operated a "double-breasted" company--Alpine Investment Group--to hide drivers' hours from the union, and to have failed to collect and pay to the IRS certain payroll taxes.  Fusella Group is also alleged to have submitted false certified payrolls to the PANYNJ stating that they were paying the prevailing wage and fringe benefits to its employees as required by the Davis Bacon Act.  The FTA has committed in excess of $2.2 billion on the WTC Hub project. 

The investigation is being work jointly with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, the PANYNJ-OIG, and the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division.  

Note:  Indictments, Informations, and Criminal Complaints are only accusations by the Government. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.