Ex-Lawrence school district facilities director Scott Unger charged in alleged $2M bid-rigging scheme

The former facilities director for the Lawrence Union Free School District allegedly steered more than $2 million in public heating and air conditioning contracts to a company he ran with a friend, an indictment unsealed Wednesday morning in Nassau County Court states.

Scott Unger, 65, of Long Beach, who was hired in October 2022 to oversee building maintenance in the school district, pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of corrupting the government, fourth-degree conspiracy, six counts of official misconduct and failure to disclose his interest in the HVAC company named in the court papers.

"He’s always operated in the best interest of the school district," said Unger’s lawyer, Mark Silverman.

Co-defendant Joseph Greenblatt, 59, of Island Park, also pleaded not guilty to corrupting the government, official misconduct and fourth-degree conspiracy.

"My client is innocent," said Michael L. Soshnick, Greenblatt's attorney. "In the fullness of time, I expect him to be fully exonerated."

Soon after Unger started at the district, he halted payments to Hi Tech Air Conditioning Services Inc. for servicing and installation of HVAC equipment in several Lawrence school buildings, according to the Nassau District Attorney’s Office.

In February 2023, Hi Tech, which has 40 years of experience, pulled their workers off the school HVAC systems and threatened to sue the district for nonpayment.

"Go for it," Unger responded, according to Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly.

With heating and cooling systems in disrepair, Unger told the district that he had reached out to several other companies without success, the prosecutor said.

In May 2023, he told the Lawrence school board the situation had become dire and he needed to resort to emergency contracting and forgo competitive bidding.

After the board agreed, Unger awarded the contract to SDF Service Plus Inc., a company that Greenblatt, a former carpenter and auto mechanic with no heating and air conditioning experience, had only just incorporated the month before, according to state business records.

SDF had no other clients, prosecutors said, had no experience with HVAC work and hired workers who had previously worked on the school district systems for Hi Tech.

After the contract was signed, the district gave SDF's payment directly to Unger who would deposit it himself in the company account, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors charge that Unger also created the company’s email, managed its payroll and hired its bookkeeper.

"He was the shadow president of the company he had just hand-picked to take over a very profitable contract," Donnelly said at a news conference. "Simply put, these men colluded to line their pockets while Unger pulled the strings from inside the school district throughout the contract."

Once the district money started rolling in, Greenblatt wrote checks to a shell company, Scott Mitchell Management Inc., set up and operated by Unger, according to the district attorney. Between the end of July 2023 and the end of December 2023, Greenblatt cut five checks to the management company for amounts ranging between $22,320 and $77,945, according to the indictment.

In December 2023, Unger paid $61,123 for a 2024 Kia Telluride with the ill-gotten gains, prosecutors said.

Donnelly said Unger was hired through a Civil Service exam and no one else in the district is suspected of being part of the scheme.

Lawrence Superintendent Ann Pedersen said in a statement Unger left the job over a year ago, but could not comment further because of "relevant privacy regulations and guidelines."

She said the district is cooperating with law enforcement.

Hi Tech has a pending lawsuit against Lawrence Union Free School District for more than $1.4 million in unpaid bills, which the company's lawyer said they would continue to press.