By Nathan Duke
George Pauliny, of 63-27 82nd Place in Middle Village, admitted last Thursday that he used his position at Turner Construction Co. to convince subcontractors to install and maintain a boiler as well as a radiant heating system for the driveway of his home for free, DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said.”This case is about greed and intimidation,” she said. “There are serious consequences when contractors use construction projects in the city as enticements to garner free perks.”According to the criminal complaint, Pauliny had threatened the subcontractors that they would lose out on future contract work for the city's Economic Development Corporation if they did not perform the work on Pauliny's driveway. Two of the contracts included the Manhattan Passenger Cruise renovation at Pier 88 on Manhattan's West Side and the new Passenger Ship Terminal in Red Hook, Brooklyn, Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau said.The defendant had previously earned an annual salary at Turner Construction of $190,000, the DA said.Pauliny, who will be sentenced April 4, had been charged with grand larceny by extortion, Hearn said. But the defendant will not face jail time, a spokeswoman for Morgenthau said.He resigned from his job at Turner Construction following his arrest and conviction, Hearn said. As part of his sentence, Pauliny will never be allowed to work for a company that has contracts with the city and will be required to reimburse the subcontractors for some $10,000 for the work they performed on his driveway, she said.In a statement, Turner Construction said that Pauliny had not been an officer of the company and had been suspended several months ago when DOI began its investigation of the defendant.Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
