A Manhattan man admitted Thursday to swindling the MTA by selling more than $300,000 in counterfeit parts that are supposed to help elderly and handicapped bus riders.
Larry Rosenthal, 65, of Gramercy, pled guilty to second-degree larceny in Manhattan Supreme Court for selling the bogus bus-lowering switches.
His Brooklyn-based company, Megabite Electronics, was contracted from 2004 to 2011 for almost $550,000 for 8,500 electromagnetic switches that would be used in handicapped-accessible buses, according to the Manhattan DA’s office. At least 5,000 were knock-offs.
In May 2011, New York City Transit noticed the product had a high rate of failure, and the switches were not lasting long, according to the MTA Inspector General’s Office.
The MTA stopped using the vendor, and an investigation was launched in September 2011.
“Defrauding public agencies like the MTA winds up costing us all,” said District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. “Thanks to the sharp eye of an MTA procurement officer and the subsequent joint investigation by my Office and the MTA Inspector General, this ongoing theft of public monies is over.”
Rosenthal will serve 30 days in jail, and pay the MTA $350,000 in restitution.
“These guilty pleas send a strong warning to those inclined to cheat the MTA and endanger or burden its riders: you will be punished, bay back the MTA, and never do business with the MTA again,” said the authority’s Inspector General Barry Kluger.
Megabite Electronics also pleaded guilty to third degree identity theft charges and was hit with a $1,000 fine.
“I am deeply sorry for my actions,” Rosenthal said in court.
His lawyer Thomas Rotko said he “looks forward to repaying the MTA and putting this unfortunate incident behind him.”
Rosenthal will be sentenced April 21.
Additional reporting by Daniel Prendergast