Schaumburg business owner accused of underpaying union workers

The owner of a Schaumburg construction company was charged in federal criminal court on Wednesday after being accused of intentionally underpaying his union-affiliated employees by more than $1.5 million, and underfunding their pension and welfare funds by another $1 million, according to a news release.

Joseph Lampignano, co-owner of A Lamp Concrete Contractors Inc., assigned laborers to work on government-funded road construction projects from 2008 to 2013 without paying the union-negotiated wage, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago on Wednesday.

The complaint said Lampignano also submitted false reports to the unions' pension and welfare funds that underreported the number of hours worked by certain laborers, which lowered the amount of contributions the company was required to make on behalf of its employees.

Lampignano, 43 of Itasca, was charged with one count of mail fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The company's superintendent Giovanni "John" Traversa, 46, of Bartlett, was also charged on Wednesday with one count of making false statements to the FBI and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General regarding a kickback scheme that was going on at the company, according to the news release.

In 2013, the company paid $545,357 to 24 employees at the resolution of a lawsuit, but afterward, the release states that Traversa, Lampignano and others "used their positions of authority to induce certain laborer to pay some of the money back to the company." Several employees eventually kicked back at least $64,000.

The charge against Traversa is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Both Lampignano and Traversa will be back in court for arraignments at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.