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Garabet Karakoulian Is Latest Target In A Widening Probe; Some Are Asking Whether This Is An Investigation or a Cover-Up?
By Tina Traster
What in tarnation is going on in the Town of Clarkstown?
Town officials on Friday circulated an email to tell department heads in Engineering and Facilities Management that Garabet Karakoulian had been placed on paid administrative leave until further notice. Chris Wagner remains in charge of the day-to-day operations.
The email was sent by Al Moroni, the Town Deputy Supervisor, who has been named interim administrator of the Department of Engineering & Facilities Management (DEFM), after Karakoulian’s boss Michael Gianatasio was put on paid administrative leave in July after whistle-blowing on “irregularities” on a $9 million contract between the town and Siemens International Industry Inc.
Moroni is not an engineer.
Meanwhile, sources confirm Karakoulian was told the news by email while vacationing in Italy with his pregnant wife and family. More than one correspondence shows Karakoulian was not given a reason for being put on paid administrative leave, but RCBJ has learned through sources he was told there is an ongoing investigation that cannot be conducted if he is present in his office. The engineer has been with Clarkstown nearly six years.
“My client and I have no comment at this time,” said Karakoulian’s attorney Bruce Menken, of Menken Simpson & Rozger LLP.
For the past six weeks, chaos has been swirling in the town of Clarkstown. Town detectives are pursuing outside HVAC vendors with knowledge of Siemens’ work for the town, while Town Attorney Kevin Conway is focused on internal players who possess some or any knowledge of the Siemens’ contract, its work, and accounting practices.
While the town maintains it is chasing down “bad” actors, many are questioning whether this is a legitimate investigation or a cover up. Either way, what ties this entire scandal together is the HVAC and other work Siemens performs for the town and how the company gets paid.
The saga began in early July when a Clarkstown town employee, who raised concerns over a requested payment from Siemens, was put on paid administrative leave for pushing for answers from town officials about what he reported to be a “critical financial discrepancy.”
Michael Gianatasio, Director of Engineering & Facilities Management for the Town of Clarkstown, wrote two memos over the course of three weeks outlining what he called “unsupported labor billing” by Siemens Industry International, Inc. for work performed at the Mark Woods playground at Zukor Park in New City.
In April 2024, the town board authorized $9 million for an Article 9 Energy Performance Contract (EPC) with Siemens to fund lighting, building improvements, and to build a new playground in Zukor Park, to honor the late Councilman Mark Woods. In July 2025, the town board passed a resolution reducing the original playground estimate from $2.8 million to $1.3 million, defining the project as “duly authorized energy-related playground improvements.”
Energy Performance Contracts are agreements between a municipal government and an Energy Service Company (ESCO). The ESCO designs and installs energy-saving upgrades—like LED lighting, HVAC modernization, or solar panels—with the cost of the project paid for in advance by the municipality. The savings are offset by future utility bill savings. Any shortfalls in savings over time are reimbursed by the ESCO.
It is unclear why the playground qualified under the project’s guidelines, as there are no energy modernizations at the site and no expectation of recouping the expenditure through energy savings.
On May 29, Gianatasio wrote to Clarkstown Comptroller Sara DiGiacomo detailing an “unexplained, unsupported labor” discrepancy of $594,469,” adding that “a review of the certified payroll records on file by the Department of Engineering & Facilities Management revealed that Siemens Industry Inc. has billed and drawn the entirety of a project’s $680,320 labor budget, certifying the milestone as 100 percent complete.”
He further wrote “a direct review of the certified payroll records submitted for the Zukor Park…validates a total field labor cost of only $85,850. Consequently, there is an unexplained, unsupported labor variance that requires immediate contractor reconciliation.” Moroni was copied on the email.
“I take my ethical obligations very seriously,” said Gianatasio in July, who turned to DiGiacomo, the town’s comptroller, to reconcile his findings. “She told me everything in my accounting was correct.”
In July, Gianatasio was called into a meeting with Conway and outside counsel Michael Burke of Hodges Walsh & Burke LLP, where he was put on paid administrative leave. He was told he was under investigation for omissions in his financial disclosure forms from 2023 through 2026. Gianatasio denies these allegations.
His lawyer, Robert Schechter of Tilem & Associates says, “The town is lying. They have come after my client after he reported fraud, waste and abuse. We will seek justice for what looks like a cover up.”
Meanwhile, town officials have defended their accounting practices, while widening the net in their investigation.
“The alleged misconduct currently within the scope of these probes shows the rigorous oversight put in place by the Town Board works,” said Town Supervisor George Hoehmann in a statement issued today. “Employee(s) who have been placed on leave can no longer actively use town resources during the pendency of the investigations. Additionally, any vendor(s) suspected of alleged misconduct are barred from working or bidding on any further town projects during the pendency of the investigations.”
Earlier this month, Conway released an “internal audit” prepared by Siemens that allegedly vindicates the company’s billing practices, according to documents obtained through FOIL. The documents include a detailed report prepared by Siemens, along with review by the Town Comptroller, concluding the Siemens billing was accurate and payments issued by the town were proper.
Outside counsel Michael Burke, who is also Conway’s personal lawyer, was named the investigator in the Siemens’ audit.
Meanwhile, the town continues to target others who have had some connection to Siemens’ work.
Earlier this month, Clarkstown detectives called an HVAC contractor who’d replaced a boiler at the historic Storms Tavern in Valley Cottage in late March and asked him to meet him that day at house the town recently inherited from Tilcon.
Nick Kantor, owner of Joe Cool’s Heating & Cooling, said he’d been told by the detective that the house’s kitchen and dining room had been damaged. Nothing was mentioned concerning the boiler Kantor’s company had replaced five months earlier. But Kantor, who became suspicious of the detectives’ motives, hired a lawyer to intervene. Clarkstown had needed the boiler for the historic house in an emergency. Kantor used an existing boiler that was located in a house he owns in New Jersey. Gianatasio confirmed the town knew the boiler was used but went forward with the replacement because there was worry that the 1765 pre-Revolutionary house could further deteriorate. Clarkstown paid the $15,437 bill without any dispute.
Kantor, among others, believe he’s been swept into the fray because he has firsthand knowledge of work Siemens has done for the town. By several accounts and according to at least three sources, much of the work was shoddy or subpar. Recently, two detectives went to the New Jersey house that Kantor took the boiler from and asked his realtor to let them into the basement to see the boiler. The house is for sale. They did not initially present themselves as law enforcement, according to sources. Eventually they did and the realtor referred them to Kantor.
Part of Kantor’s work led to evaluating HVAC systems that Siemens had installed in the town’s facilities. In many instances, Kantor found that the work was either subpar or not done at all, he said. Kantor mostly reported to Gianatasio and to his assistant Garabet Karakoulian.
Kantor has ties to Gianatasio.
In 2024, he was referred by Gianatasio to Moroni, who needed an air conditioner replaced in his home. Kantor charged Moroni the cost of materials but no labor — around $5,600, compared to typical jobs costing between $12,000 and $13,000, according to customer invoices he shared with RCBJ. The contractor believed doing discounted work for Moroni could help him score a contract with the town.
In 2025, he won a one-year contract with the town for $99,000 to handle HVAC repair and maintenance, and the contract was renewed in 2026 for four years.
In a text message between Gianatasio and Moroni dated July 22 at 9:56 pm, Moroni wrote, “I didn’t get a chance to get back to you regarding Nick from Cool Al’s(sic) air conditioning. He came to my house on time this morning, took a good look in my attic. Took a good look at my outdoor unit and gave me $5,000, versus $8,500!! I signed a contract with him and notified the other gentleman from West Nike Little League that I was going in a different direction which was a little difficult but given the price and the fact that I trust Nick, I really said I had to do it. So kudos to you, Mike and Garabet, and at least there’s a dinner on me coming soon for the three of us!”
In response, Gianatasio wrote, “Anytime Al. Have a Good night.”
Meanwhile, multiple investigations have been launched with the District Attorneys Office, the Clarkstown Board of Ethics, and the New York State Comptroller’s Office, with requests to investigate public officials and persons of interest.
