Net closes on contractor with a checkered past.
Philip B. Schwab, a notorious 82-year-old demolition contractor, is expected to surrender today to face state tax charges.
Schwab, who began his career in the road-building business in upstate New York in the 1950s, has made and lost fortunes several times during his 60-year career in construction and demolition. Critics assailed a trail of deaths and injuries that followed him, including some involving family members. But developers and building owners often returned to him time and again, citing his skill and low prices.
A sealed indictment obtained by prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney’s office charges Schwab with about a half-dozen counts in connection with what the authorities allege was his failure to file personal tax returns for several years, people briefed on the matter said.
In an interview, Schwab said he expected to be charged on Thursday with four felonies and two misdemeanors for failing to file. “They say I owe taxes,” he said. “I say I don’t owe any money.” Schwab said the prosecutors had offered to settle the case for $40,000, but he had refused.
Schwab said he believed that the tax investigation began during a criminal inquiry by prosecutors from the district attorney’s office into the deaths of two firefighters during a blaze at the former Deutsche Bank headquarters in 2007. That investigation also focused on how the contract for the demolition of the building had been awarded and included an examination of spending by contractors on the job.
Schwab said that he had served as a consultant to estimate the cost of the project for several people before the bids were entered and that checks he cashed had come to the attention of the prosecutors.
Schwab was born during the Great Depression in Buffalo, where his grandfather Frank X. Schwab had once served as mayor. After dropping out of high school, he went into business for himself. His company rapidly grew into the largest road-building contractor in the city.
At his peak, Schwab controlled seven small banks; a casino in Reno, Nev.; and much of Hilton Head Island, S.C. But his empire collapsed in bankruptcy. He was indicted in 1988 and convicted along with dozens of demolition executives in New York City for bribing a federal environmental protection inspector to ignore asbestos removal laws.
You can read more on the current court case here but we would also strongly recommend this piece, also from the New York Times, which provides an even greater insight.
