Contract Workers Took MTA For A Ride, Stole And Sold Forklifts

Three employees of a private contractor operating at a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) warehouse in Maspeth have been charged with stealing equipment from the facility and selling it to a local junk dealer for their own profit, it was announced.

Law enforcement sources identified the suspects as Bruce Lesniewski, 30, of North Henry Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn; Darrin Pfaff, 42, of 11th Street in Ronkonkoma, L.I.; and Kimberly B. Edwards, 57, of East Lakeland Street in Bay Shore. All three are or were employed by Crown Equipment, a subcontractor for the MTA.

According to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, the trio allegedly stole eight forklifts and 17 batteries from the MTA New York City Transit warehouse located at 55- 04 Maspeth Ave. between March and September 2008, selling the equipment to a local scrap dealer, Dependable Scrap Yard, located at 57-35 Flushing Ave.

The defendants reportedly split the profits from the sales, which totaled more than $7,800.

"By these arrests we have sent a clear message that in these challenging economic times, the MTA and the riding public can ill afford such waste and thievery and have underscored the fact that those who steal will be held accountable for their actions," Brown said in a statement.

As noted in the criminal complaint, Lesniewski and Pfaff were assigned by Crown Equipment to the MTA warehouse in Maspeth to work as technicians to provide onsite repairs and maintenance and to provide estimates for shop repairs. Edwards, a flatbed truck driver formerly employed by Crown, worked at the warehouse to transport equipment to other locations for maintenance and replacement parts.

District Attorney Brown noted that the investigation was launched in September 2008 when New York City Transit personnel began an annual inventory of equipment at the Maspeth warehouse and discovered that eight forklifts and 17 steel case batteries (each weighing between 2,000 and 2,500 pounds) used to operate their forklift equipment were missing.

Reportedly, the probe involved interviews, a review of the business records of the MTA and the scrap dealer, and an analysis of cell phone records and GPS signals assigned to Crown Equipment phones and trucks.

According to the criminal charges, in selling the metal to the scrap dealer, both Lesniewski and Pfaff signed invoices stating that they were the rightful owners of the equipment and had authority to sell it and showed photo identification in order for the invoices to be completed and the money paid to them.

Finally, it is alleged that GPS records for the flatbed truck driven by Edwards tracked his driving from the warehouse to Dependable Scrap Yard on at least three different occasions between August and September 2008, and that he and Pfaff had a series of cell phone conversations on those dates.

Each of the defendants were variously charged with third- and fourthdegree grand larceny as well as fifth-degree conspiracy and face up to seven years in prison if convicted.

The investigation was conducted by Det. Joseph Brancaccio, of the District Attorney's Detective Bureau, under the supervision of Sgt. Evelyn Alegre and Lt. Robert J. Burke, and the overall supervision of Chief Lawrence J. Festa and Deputy Chief Albert D. Velardi, and by Deputy Chief Investigator Albert Pignataro, Principal Investigators John Flannery and John Crimmins, and Senior Investigative Attorney Maura Daly, all of the MTA Inspector General's Office.

Assistant District Attorney Phyllis C. Weiss, of the District Attorney's Integrity Bureau, is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys James M. Liander, Bureau Chief, and Carmencita N. Gutierrez, Deputy Bureau Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney Linda M. Cantoni.

It was noted that a criminal complaint is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.