The indictments for DAVID CONNELL and SERGEI DENKO who was involved in hiring the men arrested in Tennessee who had illegally done work in the WTC the week of 9/11.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY – NEW YORK COUNTY

Contact: Barbara Thompson
212.335.9400

Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced today the indictment of
two men on charges that they falsified applications to obtain trade licenses issued by the
New York City Department of Buildings by overstating their qualifications for the
licenses.

SERGEI DENKO and DAVID CONNELL were both charged with multiple counts of
Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree in connection with statements
they made about their employment experience on applications for Master Fire
Suppression Piping Contractor licenses. In addition to the false filing charges,
CONNELL was charged with three counts of Forgery in the Second Degree. DENKO
was also charged with Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree in
connection with applications he filed to be a Master Plumber.

Both DENKO and CONNELL falsely stated on their applications that they had worked
under the supervision of licensees when they had not. It is a requirement to obtain both
Master Plumber and Master Fire Suppression Piping Contractor licenses to have worked
under the supervision of a licensee for a certain period of years. In addition, CONNELL
forged three letters purportedly written by individuals attesting to his experience under
the supervision of a licensee who had not in fact supervised him.

The Master Fire Suppression Piping Contractor license is a trade license issued by the
New York City Department of Buildings. The New York City Building Code provides
that a Master Fire Suppression Piping Contractor is someone who is authorized to
“install, maintain, repair, modify, extend or alter fire suppression piping systems in the
City of New York.” Such systems include sprinkler and standpipe systems.
Mr. Morgenthau said, “Obviously, fire suppression systems are critical to public safety.
It is extremely important that licenses be granted only to qualified professionals.
Individuals who obtain licenses by falsifying their applications are putting lives at risk in
the event of a fire.”

New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said, “These
individuals were entrusted with keeping the public safe by installing fire suppression
systems in the City. Instead, as these troubling allegations show, they misrepresented
their qualifications and evaded the City’s requirements for licensing fire suppression
contractors. In the case of Sergei Denko, the City must now re-inspect each of the
approximately 95 jobs he worked and DOI has notified the Buildings Department
regarding the sites that need to be re-inspected. This case underscores the commitment by
DOI and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to pursue individuals who try to skirt
the regulations that ensure professional standards and protect the public.”
DENKO is self-employed as the president of Denko Mechanical, a Brooklyn-based
plumbing and fire suppression company. CONNELL is supervisor plumber of the City
College of New York.

The New York City Department of Investigation conducted the investigation and referred
the matter to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The Inspectors General for the
New York City Department of Buildings and the New York City Department of Citywide
Administrative Services had conducted a joint audit of applications filed for the Master
Fire Suppression Piping Contractor licenses. At the time that DENKO and CONNELL
applied for the licenses, the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative
Services (DCAS) administered the licensing examination and conducted the background
investigation, while the New York City Department of Buildings issued the licenses.
One of DENKO’s falsified Licensed Master Plumber applications was discovered in
connection with a routine background investigation, while the other falsified Licensed
Master Plumber application was discovered during an investigation into his Master Fire
Suppression Piping Contractor license application.

DENKO is charged with six counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First
Degree. CONNELL is charged with four counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing
in the First Degree and three counts of Forgery in the Second Degree. Offering a False
Instrument for Filing in the First Degree is a class E felony, which is punishable by up to
four years in prison. Forgery in the Second Degree is a class D felony, which is
punishable by up to seven years in prison.

Assistant District Attorney Daniel G. Cort, Deputy Bureau Chief of the Rackets Bureau,
and Special Assistant District Attorney Cristina Lynn Fernandez, an attorney with the
New York City Department of Buildings Special Investigations Unit, presented the case
to the grand jury under the supervision of Rackets Bureau Chief Patrick Dugan. Chief of
Investigations Barry Romm of the Department of Buildings Special Investigations Unit
and Department of Investigation Confidential Investigator Jacqueline Maquine conducted
the investigation under the supervision of Robert Joyce, Department of Investigation
Associate Commissioner and John Woods, Inspector General for the New York City
Department of Buildings.

Mr. Morgenthau thanked Rose Gill Hearn, Commissioner of the New York City
Department of Investigation, Patricia Lancaster, FAIA, Commissioner of the New York
City Department of Buildings, and Martha Hirst, Commissioner of the New York City
Department of Citywide Administrative Services, and her staff for their assistance in this
investigation.

Defendant Information
DAVID CONNELL, 9/13/61
28 Maple Place
Huntington, NY 11743
SERGEI DENKO, 2/11/64
232 East 26th Street, Apt. 21
New York, NY 10010
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