Fire alarm repair company execs plead guilty to swindling NYC agencies for a decade

John Annese, New York Daily News on Mar 25, 2025

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NEW YORK — Two men who ran a fire alarm repair company admitted Tuesday they fleeced several New York City agencies with fake and inflated invoices for more than a decade.

Walter Stanzione, 66, served as the head of the Fire Alarm Electrical Corporation, and William Noegra, 65, worked as his second-in-command, according to court filings.

They ran their scheme from 2009 to 2020, when the company had contracts with the city’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Education and Department of Sanitation.

On Tuesday, both men pleaded guilty in Brooklyn Federal Court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, admitting they filed “false and inflated” invoices. Based on the amount Stanzione is required to forfeit, the scheme netted at least $1.6 million.

The duo created shell companies, owned by Stanzione, so they could charge three to five times the purchase price for alarm parts, according to federal prosecutors.

They also used shell companies already created by other fraudsters, the feds said, including David Motovich — an Eric Adams and Bill de Blasio donor who was convicted at trial last year of running a $55 million illegal check-cashing operation

The fire alarm duo’s scheme included billing for part model types that don’t exist, inflating installment payments and submitting fake invoices from third-party vendors. They also made their employees design websites and logos for the shell companies listed on their invoices, according to court filings.

Stanzione likely faces around five to six and a half years behind bars based on federal sentencing guidelines, while Neogra could face up to three and a half years. Their sentencing dates have not yet been set.

“For over a decade, the City of New York relied on the defendants to ensure that the fire safety systems in hundreds of city buildings were in safe, working order,” U.S. Attorney John Durham said. “The defendants abused this position of trust so that they could scheme and steal, defrauding New York City out of millions of dollars.”