Robert Cortese, of Huntington, charged with passing forged building permit to customer, DA says
A Huntington contractor faces up to seven years in prison after authorities said he presented a forged building permit to a customer in 2021.
The contractor, identified by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office as Robert Cortese, 37, surrendered to authorities Wednesday and was arraigned before District Court Judge Steven Weissbard. He was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument.
Cortese was released on his own recognizance; he is due back in court on Aug. 6.
Cortese could face 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison if convicted.
Attorney Marc Gann, of the Mineola-based firm Collins, Gann, McCloskey & Barry PLLC, represents Cortese.
“I think this action, this criminal complaint, was filed in order to get leverage against him in civil proceedings that have been pending for years now,” Gann said. “I don’t think there’s any proof Cortese created this document — or that he offered this document — and he adamantly denies doing so.”
Cortese was the owner of Tool Time Construction Inc. and did not have a valid business license when he presented a customer with a forged Town of Islip building permit in 2021, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement. The permit was part of work Cortese had been contracted to complete on a home in Great River, the district attorney’s office said.
Cortese "allegedly assured the homeowner" he would obtain all necessary permits from the town in order to comply with building codes, Tierney said in a statement. The district attorney’s office said the homeowner was presented with what Cortese claimed was a valid town building permit in October 2021 — that, Tierney said, after the homeowner had "repeatedly" requested a copy of the permit from Cortese.
It was only later, after contacting the Town of Islip Building Department, that the homeowner learned the permit was fraudulent, the district attorney’s office said. At that time the homeowner also learned Cortese did not have a valid license to operate as a contractor in Suffolk.
Authorities are asking anyone who suspects they might have been a victim of Cortese to contact the district attorney’s office at 631-853-5602.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
