By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — Two top executives at the concrete testing company accused of faking important structural integrity checks at Yankee Stadium, the Freedom Tower and other massive construction projects were found guilty of a top corruption charge on Wednesday.
Owner V. Reddy Kancharla, vice president Vincent Barone and and Testwell Laboratories were convicted on charges of enterprise corruption, a version of racketeering that carries up to 25 years in prison.
Kancharla and his company were convicted twice before on lesser charges, including falsifying test results, falsifying business records and other charges. Barone was convicted once before on similar charges. Under the lesser charges, the men only faced up to four years.
Under the enterprise corruption charge, the most serious of the three verdicts, the executives face up to 25 years in prison. The charge is the state's version of racketeering charges, usually used against organized crime.
Testwell was responsible for testing the integrity of concrete and steel at nearly every large construction project in the metropolitan area in the past decade, including the Second Avenue subway project, prosecutors said.
"Testwell’s conduct was reprehensible not only for its pattern of theft and deception, but for its utter disregard for the safety of the public at large, motivated by profit," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said.
Authorities are in the process of retesting steel and concrete at the projects Testwell was responsible for. Many of the large projects, including the Freedom Tower, Second Avenue Subway and Yankee Stadium have all come back with safe results, according to reports.
The executives are currently free on bail and are scheduled to be sentenced on April 7.
