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DA: Day laborers stiffed of 20G

3 contractors charged in probe

When money's tight, some companies lay off workers.
But if immigrant day laborers make up the workforce, cash-strapped contractors may be tempted to stiff their employees.

Not a good idea, say Nassau authorities.

Three contractors were arrested yesterday for cheating immigrant workers out of $20,000 in wages, then threatening to report them to immigration authorities if they complained.

"The defendants ... took advantage of individuals whom they felt were less likely to go to the authorities to report such crimes," Nassau District Attorney Denis Dillon said.

Charles Cobb, 44, of St. Albans; Christopher Galanis, 38, of Bethpage, and Nicholas Fey, 38, of Bellmore were each charged with misdemeanor fraud.

Cobbs and Galanis also face violations for running unlicensed businesses.

The three defendants could not be reached for comment.

Getting stiffed on pay is the most common labor problem confronted by undocumented day laborers, according to Carlos Canales, an organizer with the Hempstead-based Workplace Project, which brought the cases to Dillon's office.

"Many immigrants believe the myths that as immigrants they have no rights," he said.

The contractors nabbed yesterday paid workers none or only part of the $100 to $200 daily wages promised when they were hired for construction and landscaping work, Dillon said.

Since April, Dillon - who also announced the creation of a Spanish-speaking fraud unit - has arrested eight contractors who allegedly owe dozens of workers more than $70,000.

Oscar Contreras, a Honduran immigrant, said he worked for a home-construction contractor for six years before the contractor stopped paying him in April.

Contreras stopped working for him, but went to the contractor's house several times to ask for his pay.

"He said the company hadn't paid him yet, so he couldn't pay me," Contreras said. "He acted like it was a joke."

Originally published on October 26, 2005