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New York Contractor Arrested

Authorities Say He Failed To Pay 69 Employees For Their Work On Connecticut Projects

By HILDA MUĂ‘OZ
Courant Staff Writer

February 15 2006

NEW BRITAIN -- A New York contractor hired during the construction of local hotels and a restaurant was arrested over the weekend on charges that he did not pay 69 of his employees - most of whom were illegal immigrants, officials said.

Daniel Magee, 45, of New York Ceiling & Drywall owes more than $200,000 in wages to the construction workers. Most of them are from Central and South America, according to an arrest affidavit.

He was arrested in New York on Friday and is scheduled to be arraigned today on a fugitive from justice charge in court in Goshen, N.Y., officials said.

Once in Connecticut, Magee faces 69 counts of defrauding immigrant laborers, 57 counts of failure to pay wages, 12 counts of failure to pay premium overtime and one count of first-degree larceny.

His attorney, Richard Lawlor of West Hartford, could not be reached for comment.

New York Ceiling & Drywall was hired by the Briad Group - a New Jersey-based developer - to do drywall work at hotels in Newington, Rocky Hill and Wallingford and at a TGI Friday's restaurant in Newington.

The New England Regional Council of Carpenters helped 69 workers who claimed they were not being paid to file complaints with the state Department of Labor. The complaints led to a six-month investigation, said Gary K. Pechie, director of the department's wage and workplace standard division.

"We cannot and shall not tolerate the exploitation of workers in this manner," said Pechie. "The labor department will do everything in its power to track individuals down, even if they're out of state."

He said the department will refer the case to other state and federal agencies, such as the IRS, to see if laws in other jurisdictions have been broken.

Glenn A. Duhl, attorney for the Briad Group, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Duhl said last month his client did not know the workers were not being paid until they complained to the labor department. He said the Briad Group paid its contractors, who assured the company the workers had received their wages.

Magee told investigators that he hired other subcontractors who brought their own crews to do the drywall work on the hotels, according to the warrant. When he found out the workers were not being paid, he went to New Jersey and picked up a check from Briad to pay some of the back wages.

The workers were promised between $15 and $25 an hour for drywall work at the three hotels, according to the arrest warrant. Miguel Fuentes, a representative with the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, said two of the laborers worked on a T.G.I. Friday's in Newington.

Approximately $202,000 was withheld for work done between March and October of 2005, the warrant states.