Cape Girardeau contractor charged with falsifying payroll

A Cape Girardeau contractor who worked on the Jackson High School addition project is being accused of not paying two of the project's workers, the Missouri Labor Department said Wednesday.

The department's Division of Labor Standards received a wage complaint from an employee alleging contractor Larry McElroy of Blackhawk Electric Co. did not pay two employees for work completed on the project from December 2009 to February 2011, according to a Missouri Department of Labor news release.

McElroy owed more than $9,800 to the two workers, the release said. Division of Labor Standards investigator Jerry Wolsey found that McElroy not only failed to pay the proper wages to the workers, the contractor failed to compensate the workers at all for the last month of work. Wolsey also discovered that McElroy improperly classified the two workers as independent contractors rather than employees to avoid paying taxes on their behalf, the release said.

Wolsey also alleges McElroy gave him false payrolls, the release said.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle filed five counts of making a false declaration, a misdemeanor, against McElroy. Each count could result in a sentence of up to six months in jail and up to a $500 fine. McElroy's arraignment in county court is scheduled for Sept. 27.

A call to McElroy was not immediately returned.

Jackson School District chief financial officer Wade Bartels said he knew little about the charges but acknowledged an investigation had been going on for a long time.

"To my knowledge, it's been resolved," he said.

Zoellner Construction, the general contractor for the Jackson High School addition project, made full restitution to the workers.

psullivan@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

315 South Missouri Street Jackson, MO