Wyoming County contractor sentenced

ALBANY, N.Y. - A Wyoming County contractor has been sentenced after pleading guilty to felony grand larceny in defrauding the state.

David Darling, 61, owner of Pro Care Contracting, Inc., was sentenced to five years probation and made to pay nearly $41,000 in restitution.

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced joint state investigation that concluded he falsified invoices to receive improper payments from the state.

Darling forged 22 lease agreements and five invoices to boost his bills on five emergency construction jobs at the Attica, Collins and Gowanda correctional facilities in western New York in 2006 and 2007. Darling also charged the state for Bobcat “rental equipment,” which Pro Care actually owned.

Darling also altered costs or invoice dates for other equipment the company rented. Pro Care was awarded contracts to do emergency construction work on 10 projects totaling $1.5 million.

State auditors discovered the fraudulent invoices in a routine audit in 2007. The investigation was conducted jointly by the Office of the State Comptroller, the New York State Office of General Services and the New York State Inspector General’s Office. Darling was prosecuted by the Albany County District Attorney’s Office.