Ludlow businessman Troy Caruso charged in federal indictment in New York City
The Chester Telegraph | Dec 14, 2023 | Comments 0
By Cara Philbin
and Shawn Cunningham
©2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC
“Honest services wire fraud” means to deprive someone of “their right to honest services through a scheme to violate a fiduciary duty through bribery or kickback,” according to federal statute. You can read the indictment by clicking here.
Besides a number of properties and businesses in Ludlow, Caruso is the owner and CEO of a commercial construction firm in New York City. His alleged co-conspirator, John Nolan, is a senior executive in that NYC firm. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the two engaged in a 2 1/2-year kickback scheme in which they bribed a senior project manager at publicly traded Fortune 500 commercial real estate firm. The two bribed the employee “to award their company favorable contracts, resulting in the parties involved fraudulently obtaining millions,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in a press release.
Ludlow businessman Troy Caruso helps clean up Ludlow after the July floods. Photo provided.
According to court records, the two made initial appearances in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Thursday, Dec. 14.
Attorneys Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos appeared for Caruso, court records show. Agnifilo is a high-profile criminal defense attorney who worked for the Manhattan District Attorney and the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey before going into private practice with Brafman & Associates. He has represented former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli, convicted NXIVM cult founder Keith Raniere and Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
As of Thursday evening, Court records also show that Nolan was released on a $1 million unsecured bond, but there was no information about Caruso’s release status. That may be updated later and a call to Caruso’s attorneys was not returned by publication time.
According to the DOJ, Caruso and Nolan paid $15,000 to an unnamed individual to connect them with the real estate firm employee, whom they then bribed to fix the commercial construction bidding process that the real estate firm managed on behalf of its client, a health services business that provides direct-to-patient services. The government alleges that because Caruso’s company would not otherwise have been permitted to submit bids related to the project, they promised the real estate firm employee “one percent of the construction value of any project” they were awarded.
In turn, Caruso’s company was indeed awarded both a pre-construction contract and a construction contract, the latter of which was valued around $3.55 million, for which the real estate firm employee received $35,500 in bribes, according to the DOJ. Caruso and Nolan allegedly paid the employee an additional $33,000 in kickbacks for the employee’s ongoing assistance on the project, and continued to engage them in an ongoing scheme to obtain additional contracts that Caruso’s company ultimately did not receive, the DOJ says.
Most of the payments were made in cash at locations around New York City, according to the DOJ.
“In the construction world, fair bidding is crucial to the success or downfall of a business,” said Williams. “Kickback schemes like the one we allege in this case can undermine that process.”
Caruso owns a home and multiple businesses in Ludlow, including Off The Rails, a restaurant and bar at the foot of Okemo Mountain Resort. Recently, two of his establishments – Sam’s Steakhouse and Mr. Darcy’s Bar & Burger – were shuttered due to damage from the July floods.
Caruso has also owned and operated Fox Run Golf Club since late 2020.
The investigation was led by Task Force Officers for the Public Corruption Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, with help from the FBI.
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