A Huntington contractor and his construction company have pleaded guilty after providing a Great River homeowner with a forged Town of Islip building permit for a pool and pool house project, Suffolk County prosecutors announced Friday.
Robert Cortese, 39, and his company, Tool Time Construction Inc., entered guilty pleas Nov. 5 in connection with the fraudulent permit presented to the homeowner in 2021. The company was convicted of a felony, while Cortese pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the homeowner hired Cortese and his company in May 2021 to install a swimming pool and construct a pool house at a Great River residence.
After repeatedly asking for proof that the project had been approved, the homeowner received what Cortese claimed was a legitimate Town of Islip building permit in October 2021.
The homeowner later questioned some of the completed work and contacted the town’s Building Department. Officials confirmed that the permit was forged and that no building permit application had ever been submitted for the project.
Investigators also determined that Cortese did not have a valid Suffolk County home improvement contractor license when the work was performed. Prosecutors said they could not pursue that charge because the legal deadline for bringing it had expired.
“A forged permit is never simply a shortcut, it is a crime,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said. “This defendant provided falsified documentation to persuade a homeowner to pay for work that was never submitted to the town, let alone approved to start the job.”
Tool Time Construction pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, a felony. Cortese pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, a misdemeanor.
Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz sentenced both Cortese and his company to conditional discharges, meaning neither received jail time and both must comply with court-imposed conditions.
Tierney urged homeowners who have concerns about the legitimacy of building permits to contact their local building departments to verify that the documents are valid.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Miller of the Financial Crimes Bureau. The investigation was conducted by Deputy Sheriff Investigator Brandon Clark, with assistance from the Suffolk County Department of Consumer Affairs.
Photo: Robert Cortese, 39, of Huntington, pleaded guilty in a forged building permit case involving a Great River homeowner. (Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office)
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