Museums, Churches among Those Scammed by Asbestos Contractor

December 6, 2006 - U.S. Attorneys working on the AAR Contractors asbestos scandal case in Syracuse, New York say it’s unlikely that anyone scammed by the company’s owners will ever see restitution money.

The contracting company, owned by Alex and Raul Salvagno, scammed 1,550 businesses in the greater Syracuse area including the Milton Rubinstein Museum of Science and Technology (MOST), reports the Syracuse Post-Standard.

The newspaper reports that asbestos removal at the museum was done improperly – without the use of water – and that bags upon bags of asbestos material were left in the museum’s garage at the completion of the job.  The museum had to hire another company to come and clean up what was left on the premises.  MOST had already paid $114,000 to AAR for the initial abatement.

That puts them in line for a refund, but officials say they doubt that will ever happen.  Though they have a suspicion that the Salvagnos have invested money in offshore accounts, they’re not sure it will ever be found.  The Salvagnos, who are both currently serving prison terms, claim their company is broke but records show that Alex took classes on offshore investing before his imprisonment.

Hospitals, schools, and churches are included among the remaining institutions that should be receiving restitution for the Salvagnos.  Most doubt they will ever see a penny.

"We are certainly operating under the assumption that they have funds secreted away," said Craig Benedict, assistant U.S. attorney. A forensic accountant is looking into the matter.

Benedict said he doubts the Salvagnos have all the money and said the likelihood of finding it "is not great. Whether we're able to find those funds and where they might be now, we just don't know," he said.