The unlicensed plumbers whose work caused a fire in a Mineola apartment building in early April and a representative of the management company that owns the building pleaded guilty to three violations of village code last month and paid a $2,500 fine, according to Village of Mineola Building Superintendent Daniel Whalen.
The owners, officers and agents of 104 Mineola Blvd. Co. LLC were cited for three violations in the April 7 fire that gutted a first-floor apartment at 104 Mineola Blvd. and damaged a restaurant at 200 Mineola Blvd., according to copies of court papers obtained by Blank Slate Media.
The violations, issued by Whalen on April 28, included plumbing without a license, plumbing without a permit and plumbing without inspection.
“These people were unlicensed plumbers doing plumbing work,” Village of Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss said last week. “Here’s a guy lighting a fire in a closed space. He should know what he’s doing.”
Whalen said the superintendent of the building and the plumber started the fire.
Guilty pleas were entered for the offenses on May 20 and the $2,500 in fines were paid on May 21, according to a court document signed by village prosecutor Ben Truncale and village Justice John O’Shea.
The signature of the management company representative on the court document is illegible and representatives of 104 Mineola Blvd. Co. could not be contacted for comment.
Truncale declined to comment on the case.
Whalen said the superintendent, Arcidao Matias, and the plumber, Puello Vasquez, of 275 W. 238 St., Bronx, set fire to the wall of a closet in a bedroom while soldering a bathroom pipe with a hand torch.
The fire was discovered when a tenant of the apartment found flames shooting from his clothes closet.
Strauss, who is also a member of the Mineola Fire Department, was on the scene April 7 as Mineola firefighters quickly responded to the scene and extinguished the fire.
But the blaze destroyed the apartment and Wong’s Noodle House on the ground floor of the building sustained serious water damage and remains closed.
Mineola Fire Department 2nd Assistant Chief Brian Santosus said two occupants of the apartment suffered from smoke inhalation and were evacuated by Mineola firefighters to Winthrop-University Hospital.
He said one of the men working in the apartment was brought out of the apartment by firefighters and the second man walked out on his own, Santosus said.
Mineola firefighters were assisted by units from the Williston Park, New Hyde Park, Garden City Park and Garden City Fire Departments. Members of the Mineola Volunteer Ambulance Corps were also on the scene.
Whalen said Vasquez told him he had been handling the torch when the fire started.
But in court, Whalen said the management representative said Matias was using the torch. At the scene of the April 7 fire, Whalen said neither man took responsibility for starting the blaze.
“I have to assume that at some point, both of them had it in their hands,” Whalen said.
Whalen said the management representative of 104 Mineola Blvd. Co. agreed that the company would observe all village regulations on future plumbing work in the building and for the repair work required for the apartment.
Strauss criticized the building management for not following proper procedures.
“Every contractor is looking to make a buck and some contractors make a buck by cutting corners. That’s why we require permits,” Strauss said.
Reach reporter Richard Tedesco by e-mail at rtedesco@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow1 and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.
