Ludlow businessman Caruso pleads guilty to kickback scheme in New York

By Cara Philbin
©2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC

Ludlow business owner Troy Caruso, 57, who also lives in Smithtown, N.Y., pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of “honest services wire fraud conspiracy” for a kickback scheme that lasted from early 2021 until late 2023.

The Chester Telegraph reported his arrest in December of 2023.

“Honest services wire fraud” means to deprive someone of “their right to honest services through a scheme to violate a fiduciary duty through bribery or kickback,”  according to federal statute. You can read the original indictment by clicking here.

According to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Caruso, the owner of MacAlpine Contracting who is also the company’s chief executive officer, paid more than $48,000 in cash bribes to a Fortune 500 real estate firm in exchange for illegal commercial construction contracts. Those contracts include $3.55 million of projects for a health services business that provides hospital, medical and other health services to patients, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Caruso and an associate, senior executive John Nolan, 43, of Brooklyn, N.Y., who also pleaded guilty, agreed to pay approximately one percent of the value of projects they were improperly awarded through preferential treatment in Manhattan’s highly competitive commercial real estate bidding process.

According to the U.S. Justice Department, the pair continued to “exploit the system” by pursuing and negotiating two additional contracts from the same firm, until they were caught.

Each man was indicted in December 2023 on one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and one count of honest services wire fraud. Those counts each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, as prescribed by Congress.

Caruso owns a home and multiple businesses in Ludlow, including Off The Rails, a restaurant and bar at the foot of Okemo Mountain Resort. Two of his establishments – Sam’s Steakhouse and Mr. Darcy’s Bar & Burger – were shuttered due to damage from the July 2023 floods.

Caruso has also owned and operated Fox Run Golf Club since late 2020.  He is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on Feb. 12, 2025.