The corrupt concrete testing firm boss who tried to kill himself twice to avoid going to prison was finally sentenced yesterday. Wearing a neck brace in court (a keepsake from his failed attempt to hang himself last month), V. Reddy Kancharla, president of the ironically-named Testwell Laboratories, defended himself to the end, telling the judge, "Despite the jury’s verdict, I want you to know that Testwell was not a criminal enterprise, and that I am not a criminal mastermind." But Justice Edward J. McLaughlin didn't seem to find that very persuasive.
Testwell, which used to be the leading concrete testing company in NYC, was found to have faked concrete mix and strength tests, filed false invoices and created bogus steel inspection reports, the Times reports. In February, a jury convicted Mr. Kancharla of 15 counts of falsifying business records and related charges. At yesterday's sentencing, assistant DA Diana Florence asked the judge to sentence Kancharla "at the upper levels" of the sentencing range, declaring that he "created a lucrative and thriving business model based on the routine, almost automated, creation of fraudulent test reports."
Before sentencing Kancharla to 7 to 21 years in prison, judge McLaughlin said, "A skillful person can steal more with a pen and a smile than with a gun. The construction industry in New York City over the decades has been rife with corruption. The people of New York City are the ultimate victims of the pilfering." Kancharla also has to pay $225,000 in reparations by Dec. 14th or another year will be added to his prison term.
