Woonsocket Radio News Room

 

Massachusetts contractors arraigned on wage theft charges stemming from Barrington Middle School construction work

 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced that two owners of a Massachusetts-based asbestos remediation company were arraigned today in Sixth Division District Court on wage theft charges stemming from work performed during the construction of Barrington Middle School.

 

Thomas McCoog (age 64) and Amy Franklin (age 57), owners of Franklin Analytical Services in Marion, MA are each charged with five counts of failure to pay overtime on a prevailing wage job, one count of conspiracy to failure to pay overtime wages, one count of conspiracy to file false certified payroll, and one count of filing a false certified payroll document.

 

Under Rhode Island law, wage theft violations, regardless of the amount in wages implicated, are misdemeanor crimes.

 

As alleged in court filings, McCoog and Franklin are accused of failing to pay prevailing overtime wages totaling at least $12,000 to five former employees for asbestos remediation work, which was conducted between June and September 2019 during the construction of Barrington Middle School.

 

It is alleged that McCoog and Franklin knowingly did not pay their employees for work performed on weekends during that time period and that they filed a false certified payroll document with the Town of Barrington.

 

Under Rhode Island Law, contracts for public works awarded by government entities must pay prevailing overtime wages for work performed over 40 hours.

 

McCoog and Franklin are scheduled for a pretrial conference on November 17, 2021, in Sixth Division District Court.

 

The case was referred to the Office of the Attorney General from the Department of Labor and Training (DLT). During the investigation by the Office of the Attorney General, McCoog and Franklin paid restitution to several of their former employees.

 

Special Assistant Attorney General Carole L. McLaughlin and investigators from the Office of the Attorney General are leading the prosecution and investigation of the case.

 

 

Details of David Pecker's Involvement in Donald Trump's alleged hush money trial came to light in court Thursday. Pecker took the stand for his third day of testimony, and revealed conversations between himself, the former President, and Associate Michael Cohen. Pecker says he arranged to buy the story surrounding Trump's alleged affair with Playboy model Karen McDougal for $150,000, but backed out of the deal after consulting with election lawyers, believing the payment may break the law.        Students at Columbia University are filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against the school. They filed the complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights on Thursday, demanding an investigation into the school's actions against pro-Palestinian students. The lawsuit alleges Columbia has mistreated students utilizing their first amendment rights.        The Food and Drug Administration says remnants of the bird flu were found in one in five pasteurized milk samples. Earlier this week, the FDA found fragments of the bird flu in commercially sold milk but said it's still safe to drink, as the pasteurization process kills the virus and only leaves small traces behind. On Thursday officials revealed about 20-percent of their milk samples contained remnants of the virus.        Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is having his conviction for sex crimes in New York overturned. The New York Court of Appeals ruled Weinstein did not receive a fair trial. The court found the judge in his trial made an error allowing women to testify about alleged sexual assaults committed by Weinstein that were not part of the charges against him. Weinstein was also sentenced in Los Angeles in February of last year to 16 years in prison after he was convicted of rape and that conviction still stands.        Buying a home is now more expensive than ever. A new report from Redfin found the median home price in the United States is now over 383-thousand-dollars, a record high. The economic research lead with Redfin says prices may drop slightly in the coming months, but buyers should accept that "housing costs are likely to remain elevated for the foreseeable future." The median down payment is also up 24-percent compared to last year, at around 56-thousand-dollars.        Soulja Boy says he wants to help save TikTok. Congress passed a bill on Wednesday that requires TikTok's Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance to sell the app or else it will be banned in the United States. Soulja Boy has offered up a solution, posting "How much yall want for TikTok? I'll buy it." The rapper tagged the social media company in the post.       

Old News Archives