DA raids offices of three NY interior construction subcontractors

The offices of three interior construction subcontractors were raided this week by state troopers and detectives from the Manhattan district attorney’s office as part of an investigation into widespread corruption in the industry. The offices of P.J. Mechanical of Manhattan, Sirina Fire Protection of Long Island and Sweeney & Harkin Carpentry and Dry Wall of Queens were searched in connection with the investigation of construction contractors, which have been suspected of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars through a scheme involving false invoices for interior construction work. The three subcontractors have not been accused of any wrongdoing. There are roughly 70 companies coming under scrutiny by the district attorney’s office as part of its expanded probe into the industry, which began under former Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau and resulted in charges against the Builders Group and three of its executives in January for allegedly pocketing close to $7 million of clients’ money at five condominium and office projects. [NYT]