By Anthony Rifilato
- after a Baldwin woman claimed that town employees conspired to cover up a botched renovation of her home, a project that would have allowed her to better care for her sick, elderly mother.
An attorney for Janice Crippen, a Washington Street resident, filed a lawsuit under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) against the town, a town plumbing inspector, Carmine Salute, and Anthony Disabato, a member of the town's Plumbers Examination Board and the chief executive officer of AMD & Associates, a Bellmore-based business that did plumbing work on Crippen's home.
The suit also names Matco Remodeling Inc., the general contractor for the job, and Matthew Schwan, owner of Matco, a Wantagh contractor, as well as an AMD associate, Carlos Jaramillo.
The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in Mineola on July 31, alleges not only faulty work, but bribes, extortion, coercion, mail and wire fraud and a conflict of interest in connection with remodeling of Crippen's home that began in 2005.
The purpose of the renovation was to accommodate Crippen's mother, Eleanor Crippen, who had undergone knee replacement surgery and suffers from spinal stenosis. The work left the home partially uninhabitable, the suit claims, and Janice Crippen's repeated requests to have the job inspected by the town fell on deaf ears.
Crippen, who did not return calls requesting comment, hired Matco in July 2005 in order to "create a safe and secure living space" on the lower level of her home, according to the suit. The $40,000, 450-square-foot renovation included the expansion of a bathroom as well as structural, electrical and plumbing work. The work was to be completed in September of that year, to coincide with Eleanor Crippen's release from the hospital.
The lawsuit claims that Matco's work was left unfinished, and created a variety of hazards. Wiring was left exposed, pipes were disconnected, bathroom appliances remained uninstalled, walls went unspackled, and holes in the walls led to black mold and rotting wood, leaks and flooding.
When Matco requested more money from Crippen in December 2005, she refused because, the lawsuit says, the job was not finished. Matco served Crippen and her parents with a mechanic's lien for $15,000. In the following months, Crippen pressed Salute to inspect her home to see how Matco had left it.
Crippen's attorney, Ken Mollins, said that she complained for months but was ignored by Town of Hempstead building inspectors. She was eventually told to complain to Disabato, who, as the owner of AMD, held the permits for the plumbing work, according to the lawsuit. The suit also claims that Salute said he inspected the plumbing and approved permits even though he never went to the home.
As a result of Disabato's and Salute's "breach of duties," the suit states, Crippen and her family were forced to live in dangerous conditions, in violation of town laws and regulations. "[A racketeering suit] is very rarely brought against a municipality," Mollins said. "But when there's a conspiratorial smell, it seems to apply."
Crippen filed a complaint last year with the Nassau County district attorney's office. As a result, Matco has since lost its contractor's license.
For its part, the town said that the RICO case has no merit, and that town officials are already taking action against Disabato and his AMD associate, Jaramillo. In 2006, Disabato and Jaramillo were issued summonses for creating unsafe conditions at Crippen's home, while Matco was issued a summons for doing plumbing work without a master plumber's license.
"The town is confident that the complaint against it will be dismissed," Hempstead spokesman Mike Deery said in a statement. "In fact, town personnel have been aggressive in pursuing contractors who did work at the complainant's home, and have served various contractors with summonses which are pending in court."
Last week, Town Supervisor Kate Murray called for Disabato's resignation. Murray was expected to call for his removal at the town board meeting on Tuesday if he did not resign.
John Powers, a Deer Park attorney representing Disabato, said his client is being vilified and used as a scapegoat, and that Disabato has a clean 25-year record as a master plumber. He said that the AMD plumbing permits were issued to Jaramillo and not, as the lawsuit claims, to Disabato. Powers added that Disabato recused himself when the complaint went before the full Plumbers Examination Board.
"The town has definitely targeted Carlos [Jaramillo] and Anthony [Disabato] as scapegoats," said Powers, who also represents Jaramillo. "It seems there were issues that arose from a general contractor who [Crippen] had a dispute with, and instead of resolving that dispute in civil court, she turned to the town for a remedy. [Disabato] recused himself from anything to do with this job. It's unlikely he would have heard the complaint. He expressed to the [plumbers] board that he would recuse himself from this particular case because of the possibility of a conflict of interest."
Mollins said that Crippen was informed that she would have to speak to a plumbing board member - Disabato - about the problem. According to the suit, Disabato explained to Crippen in March 2006 that Jaramillo and AMD fulfilled the subcontracting agreement by doing its portion of the plumbing work, and had done nothing wrong.
In the wake of Crippen's allegations, others have come forward with similar complaints, including a couple from Merrick who said that Salute and another building inspector approved shoddy work at their home. As a result, the town said it is taking a closer look at hundreds of building projects approved by Salute.
Comments about this story? Baldwineditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 207.
