The Manhattan District
Attorney’s office has indicted Robert Chiarappa, a former purchasing
agent for John Galt Corp., for allegedly stealing $1.2 million from the
Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and Arch Insurance Group during the
deconstruction of the Deutsche Bank building.
As the purchasing agent,
Chiarappa was responsible for ordering and approving payment for all
abatement supplies and materials delivered to the Deutsche Bank
building. Between September 2006 and October 2007, Chiarappa allegedly
instructed vendors to submit false invoices for goods that were never
delivered to the project, and Chiarappa approved the invoices in
exchange for money, jewelry, trips, cars and construction materials.
After the fire at the Deutsche Bank building in August 2007, the
suppliers filed claims for the unpaid balance of the fake and
legitimate invoices with Arch Insurance Group, which the insurance
company paid. If found guilty, Chiarappa could face up
to 22 years in prison.
John Galt Corp. was fired from deconstructing
the Deutsche Bank building after the fire, which killed
two firefighters. Last month, prosecutors indicted Galt and three
construction officials on manslaughter charges related to the fire. TRD