Brothers From Bloomfield, Nutley Extorted Contractor: Feds – Belleville, NJ Patch

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A pair of brothers from Essex County have been accused of extorting $6,000 from a contractor at a North Bergen work site while one was employed with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

On Thursday, federal prosecutors announced that Alvaro Idrovo, 44, of Bloomfield, and Paul Idrovo, also known as “Jose Diaz,” 46, of Nutley, have been charged with conspiring to commit an offense against the United States, specifically, to commit an act of extortion under color of Alvaro Idrovo’s office or employment with OSHA.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey:

“Alvaro Idrovo was assigned to investigate an anonymous complaint concerning the misuse of an extension ladder at a North Bergen work site of Company 1. He told Individual 1, the owner of Company 1, that Individual 1 was in violation of OSHA regulations for not having the necessary safety training certificates for Company 1’s workers to be on ladders at the work site. Alvaro Idrovo falsely advised Individual 1 that he needed to obtain training certificates with a specific vendor named ‘Jose Diaz’ or Individual 1 would be subject to exorbitant fines and possible arrest for the violation.”

Prosecutors continued:

“Individual 1 contacted the phone number supplied by Alvaro Idrovo, which actually belonged to Paul Idrovo, posing as ‘Jose Diaz,’ who told Individual 1 that the required OSHA training certificates would cost $13,000 in cash and repeated Alvaro Idrovo’s false assertions that if Individual 1 did not get the training certificates that Individual 1 would be in big trouble with OSHA, including big fines and possible jail. In follow-up telephone conversations with Paul Idrovo, Individual 1 was able to negotiate the fee down to $6,000 in cash.”

Prosecutors said:

“When OSHA officials learned of Idrovo’s attempt to extort Individual 1 while questioning Individual 1 on an unrelated matter, the OSHA officials referred the matter to federal law enforcement officials, who arranged for Individual 1 to make consensual recordings with both Alvaro and Paul Idrovo. During an April meeting surveilled by law enforcement, Individual 1 paid Paul Idrovo $6,000 in cash in exchange for ladder and safety awareness training certificates and a safety and health plan. Alvaro Idrovo thereafter attached copies of the training certificates and the plan to his OSHA reports regarding Company 1’s violation despite knowing that the training certificates falsely claimed that training had been provided to the noted individuals in March 2020, ‘Jose Diaz’ had provided training, and the alleged training was OSHA-certified.”

The conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, prosecutors said.

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