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Maspeth man with alleged mob ties charged in World Trade Center fraud scheme

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Photo courtesy of The Durst Organization

Updated April 15, 10:10 a.m.

A reputed Maspeth mobster and silent partner at a construction company involved in the World Trade Center’s reconstruction was indicted Tuesday on federal money laundering charges and tax crimes, prosecutors announced.

Vincent Vertuccio, 60, reportedly controlled the Crimson Construction Corporation, which received an $11.4 million contract from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for its involvement in building the new One World Trade Center.

According to U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta E. Lynch, Vertuccio allegedly directed an employee not to disclose his involvement with the company in applying for the contract due to his “longstanding affiliation with” the Bonanno crime family.

Once the Port Authority awarded the contract to Crimson, Vertuccio received “significant sums” of a $1.5 million payment made to Crimson, authorities said. These funds were allegedly diverted to a bank account belonging to Vertuccio’s mother and were subsequently used to finance renovations to Vertuccio’s daughter’s home.

But the diversion of funds compromised Crimson’s involvement in the World Trade Center project and, as a result, the Port Authority terminated its contract.

Vertuccio’s accountant — Praful Pandya, 68, of Forest Hills — was additionally charged for allegedly submitting fraudulent tax returns in Vertuccio’s name to the IRS between 2008 and 2011.

Also charged in the indictment was Vertuccio’s lawyer, identified as John Servider, 53, of Patterson, N.Y. Servider is accused of presenting to a grand jury investigating Vertuccio falsified and doctored receipts and invoices from a Manhattan jewelry store.

“As alleged, Vertuccio and his team of criminal consultants —  including his accountant and his lawyer — cheated the taxpayers and the criminal justice system for their own corrupt purposes,” Lynch said. “We will not tolerate self-serving exploitations of Port Authority projects.”

All three defendants were scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.

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