District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. Brooklyn Eagle photo Rob Abruzzese
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, together with the New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber, announced that the owner of a Brooklyn company that is supposed to provide jobsite safety training and certification has been sentenced to six months in jail for making and selling dozens of fake safety cards to New York construction workers who never received the required training.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “Safety regulations exist because lives depend on them. When employers or trainers cut corners, the results can be tragic — we’ve seen fatal falls, collapsed scaffolds and preventable injuries on construction sites across the city. This case sends a strong message: we will not tolerate fraud that undermines worker safety. Faking safety credentials is not just paperwork fraud; it’s a direct threat to the lives of workers and the public. I thank DOI and NYCHA for their partnership to ensure that safety standards are upheld and enforced at every level.”
Commissioner Strauber said, “By creating and distributing fraudulent safety certifications, this defendant allowed workers in this city to perform difficult and dangerous work without the benefit of rigorous safety training intended to protect them and the public. Safety training is required by law, and we and our law enforcement partners will hold accountable those who flout this requirement. I thank the NYCHA employee who prompted this investigation by diligently reporting concerns about a contractor’s safety card. And I thank District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and his staff for their partnership in upholding safety standards in New York City.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Benedetto Bonello, 37, of Bensonhurst. On Jan. 8, 2025, Bonello pleaded guilty to second-degree falsifying business records and his company, National Site Safety LLC, pleaded guilty to a violation before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun in exchange for a promised sentence of six months in jail.
Bonello was an authorized OSHA trainer but, according to the investigation, did not provide the required training.
The District Attorney said the investigation began in November 2021 after NYCHA reported to DOI that it had identified construction safety cards with discrepancies as part of a routine check.
Workers on larger and more complex construction projects requiring permits by the City’s Department of Buildings (DOB) are required to take safety courses approved by the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and to carry a card reflecting that certification. OSHA provides for the issuance of a 10-hour training certification for entry-level workers and a 30-hour training certification for safety managers and coordinators.
Additionally, DOB has comprehensive rules and regulations governing supported scaffolds to ensure the safety of workers and the public. Individuals who use a supported scaffold, including supervisors, are required to have completed a DOB-approved training program or course that is at least four hours long and, every four years thereafter, retake the four-hour training program or course.
As part of the investigation, DOI made an undercover purchase of a fraudulent OSHA-30 card from Bonello at his company, National Site Safety. The undercover had not completed the OSHA training or the scaffold training. Furthermore, the scaffold user card included the name and insignia of a training organization that had not authorized the defendant to give the scaffold training or use its name or insignia.
At DOI, the investigation was conducted by Deputy Inspector General Gregory Deboer, under the supervision of Inspector General for NYCHA Ralph M. Iannuzzi and Deputy Commissioner/Chief of Investigations Dominick Zarrella.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief of the District Attorney’s Public Integrity Bureau Assistant District Attorney Adam Libove, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Assistant District Attorney Laura Neubauer and the overall supervision of Deputy Chief of the District Attorney’s Investigations Division Assistant District Attorney Michel Spanakos, and Chief of the Investigations Division Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill.
