Three members of a Briarcliff Manor commercial waste hauling company were arraigned on larceny and fraud charges, Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore said.
ATNM Corp. owner and operator Christopher C. Leggio, 56, and son Christopher E. Leggio, 20, both of Brewster, and Stephen DiSalvo of Ormond, Beach, Fla., 58, were arraigned in Briarcliff Manor Village Court on charges of second-degree grand larceny and first-degree scheme to defraud, both felonies.
Bail was $50,000 cash or $500,000 bond for owner Christopher C. Leggio and DiSalvo; bail was set at $10,000 cash or bond for Christopher E. Leggio.
DiFiore said in a statement that the three allegedly falsely altered several hundred dump tickets between January 2013 and this month to reflect a higher amount of solid waste being removed. The tickets were then submitted to a waste-hauling broker, who unknowingly passed the inflated invoices to commercial customers, who paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for work never completed.
ATNM, based at 130 Woodside Ave. in Briarcliff Manor, was licensed to haul solid waste in Westchester and neighboring areas, and was contracted to haul garbage for 27 former A&P stores, 24 of which were in Westchester. More than $500,000 was overcharged during the period, DiFiore said.
“This scheme had real financial implications for both companies doing business in Westchester County and their customers, who ultimately paid higher prices because of the theft,” DiFiore said. “Businesses have enough to deal with without the added costs and complications of the widespread and systematic fraud that was perpetrated by this company and these individuals solely for their personal gain.”
“Illegal conduct in the carting industry can result in increased costs to businesses, consumers and taxpayers. It will not be tolerated in Westchester County,” Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino said.
The charges followed a six-month investigation by DiFiore”™s office, Westchester County Police and the Westchester County Solid Waste Commission.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Lauren Abinanti and Robert Mayes of the Investigations Division.
