EMPLOYER
OF WORKERS KILLED AT JULY CONSTRUCTION-SITE ACCIDENT CHARGED WITH FRAUD
The employer of two workers killed in a July construction accident on a Hobe Sound work site has been arrested and charged with workers’ compensation fraud, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher announced.
According to investigators with the Department of Financial Services’
Division of Insurance Fraud,
Richard Meccariello, Jr., 39, of 3934 Sherwood Blvd. in Delray Beach was
accused of failing to provide workers’ compensation coverage, a third-degree
felony.
“When
workers show up to perform a job, they deserve to be protected in case they
get injured. This terrible accident is a perfect example of why workers’
compensation is so important,” said Gallagher, who oversees DFS. “Employers
who don’t protect their workers will be held accountable.”
The department’s Division of Workers’
Compensation previously ordered two companies owned by Meccariello, Mac’s
Construction and Concrete, Inc., 848 Glouchester St. in Boca Raton, and
Mac’s Custom Construction, Inc., to stop work and cease all business
operations in Florida due to workers’ compensation violations. The
companies were also fined a total of $2.4 million. Under Florida law,
construction industry employers with one or more employees must provide
workers’ compensation coverage for their employees. At the time of the
accident in July, Meccariello employed at least seven workers without
coverage.
Meccariello was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail with bond set at
$25,000. If convicted, Meccariello faces up to five years in prison.
The skyline for November is the beautiful city of Lakeland in Polk County.