WTC steel contractor charged with criminal fraud

DCM Erectors chief got $76M by lying about meeting hiring requirements: prosecutors

1 WTC and construction work on tower (Credit: Port Authority of New York & New Jersey)
1 WTC and construction work on tower (Credit: Port Authority of New York & New Jersey)

The owner of DCM Erectors, a construction firm working on 1 World Trade Center and the $3.4 billion transportation hub, was charged with criminal fraud yesterday.

Larry Davis, who owns the steel-work contractor, has been accused of falsely claiming he was adhering to requirements for hiring female and minority subcontractors in order to fraudulently obtain about $76 million, according to the New York Times. Davis allegedly used phony business records and work orders to make it appear that he was complying with the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey’s hiring rules.

Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York charged him with both wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Each charge comes with a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

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A lawyer for Davis said his client denied the charges. Davis was released on a $100,000 bond yesterday.

DCM received two contracts from the Port Authority worth a total of $600 million for the transit hub and 1 WTC projects. The contracts grew to almost $1 billion, prosecutors said, as cited by the Times. [NYT]Mark Maurer