A home contractor from Lindenhurst was arrested on Thursday for allegedly forging a letter from the Town of North Hempstead Building Department, Nassau County prosecutors said.
Mark Rosenberg, 44, allegedly forged a letter around May 23, 2016, from the town’s building department to a New Hyde Park couple, whose home he was renovating, after he was ordered to cease and desist at the construction site when he did not follow the town’s approved plan, the Nassau County district attorney’s office said.
He eventually stopped construction, prosecutors said.
“This defendant failed to follow local building rules and then allegedly forged an official document to buy time with his dissatisfied clients,” District Attorney Madeline Singas said. “Building codes and planning processes exist to protect the public, and forging government documents to skirt those rules is a crime. I thank the Town of North Hempstead for bringing this case to our attention.”
After the cease and desist was issued, Rosenberg met with the homeowners on May 24, 2016, and allegedly provided them with the letter, which was written on the town’s letterhead and was signed by the plan examiner, prosecutors said.
The forged letter said the homeowners’ application had been denied and required the town’s Board of Zoning Appeals’ approval. It added that certain items did not conform to the town’s code, prosecutors said.
The plan examiner told the homeowners he did not issue the letter, prosecutors said.
The letter displayed multiple signs of being a forgery, prosecutors said.
Rosenberg was charged with second-degree forgery and second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, both felonies . He pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Rosenberg was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court on June 12
“Mr. Rosenberg definitely appreciates and understands the severity of these charges,” Jeffery Fox, his attorney, said. “Immediately upon finding out that there was an issue, there was contact between him and the DA’s investigators and he has been totally cooporative.”
If convicted, Rosenberg faces up to 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison.
“When this wrong doing came to light we immediately turned the information over to the district attorney,” Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth said. “It’s critical that the public knows that all town business is conducted with the utmost honesty and integrity. The district attorney is a great partner in helping us to root out corruption.”
The district attorney’s office opened the investigation on Aug. 2, 2016, prosecutors said.
