Former construction manager for Touro College Lawrence Pesce was sentenced
yesterday in Manhattan federal court to three years in prison for defrauding Touro College out of more than $2 million through a commercial kickback scheme, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office announced yesterday.

“Lawrence Pesce was a corrupt employee who deceived Touro College, stealing millions
from the very non-profit educational institution whose pocketbook he was supposed to protect. He will now pay for his crimes with jail time,” Bharara said.

In May 2008, Touro College sought competitive bids for a construction project located at 230 West 125th Street. Prior to bids being received by the college, Pesce reached out to a developer and indicated that he could ensure that the developer’s company would get the project if the developer agreed to pay him kickbacks, ultimately inflating the initial bid and subsequent charges to Touro College by over $2 million. — Katherine Clarke… [more]

Preet Bharara

A former construction manager for a Touro College development project has pleaded guilty to taking more than $2 million in kickbacks from a developer on a West Harlem project, Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced yesterday. Lawrence Pesce, of Bellmore, N.Y., had been arrested June 22 on charges that he colluded with a developer, who inflated initial bids on the 230 West 125th Street project by more than $2 million in 2008 in exchange for a guarantee of the contract. Ultimately, the anonymous developer received $12.4 million for the work before becoming an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and helping to unravel the fraud. Pesce, who now faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, agreed to forfeit $1 million, as well as some real estate interests he bought with proceeds from the scheme, as part of his plea. Sentencing is set for Jan. 18. TRD

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A construction manager for a Touro College development project has been arrested and charged on allegations that he accepted more than $2 million in kickbacks from a developer, according to an announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Lawrence Pesce, whom Touro hired to oversee its construction project, allegedly accepted payments from an unnamed developer in exchange for ensuring the developer would receive the Touro construction contract, prosecutors said. Pesce allegedly orchestrated a bogus bidding process for the project at 230 West 125th Street by colluding with the developer to overbid on the project and then provide phony submissions from fake construction firms that stated estimates exceeding the developer’s offer. The developer’s $10.9 million estimate was eventually accepted, and investigators said Pesce pocketed $1.8 million for his part in the scheme. During the two-year project, officials say Pesce pushed the developer to submit falsely inflated work invoices, from which he received additional cash. The developer in the scheme ultimately became an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, helping unravel the fraud. Pesce has been formally charged with one count of wire fraud. If convicted he could spend 30 years behind bars. TRD

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A construction manager for a Touro College development project has been arrested and charged on allegations that he accepted more than $2 million in kickbacks from a developer, according to an announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Lawrence Pesce, whom Touro hired to oversee its construction project, allegedly accepted payments from an unnamed developer in exchange for ensuring the developer would receive the Touro construction contract, prosecutors said. Pesce allegedly orchestrated a bogus bidding process for the project at 230 West 125th Street by colluding with the developer to overbid on the project and then provide phony submissions from fake construction firms that stated estimates exceeding the developer’s offer. The developer’s $10.9 million estimate was eventually accepted, and investigators said Pesce pocketed $1.8 million for his part in the scheme. During the two-year project, officials say Pesce pushed the developer to submit falsely inflated work invoices, from which he received additional cash. The developer in the scheme ultimately became an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, helping unravel the fraud. Pesce has been formally charged with one count of wire fraud. If convicted he could spend 30 years behind bars. TRD

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