Prosecutors have arrested and charged dozens of people for allegedly arranging illegal gas meter hookups for landlords across Brooklyn and Queens.
They say Weldon "Al" Findlay, a former National Grid employee, was the mastermind of the operation, which charged landlords and developers $1,300 to $2,500 per job.
He allegedly enlisted six current National Grid employees in the operation, who created fake accounts with the utility, then made flimsy installments with plastic piping.
"For pure greed, a gas meter was put in place without any assurances of the quality of work, without any inspection being conducted," said acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
"All told, our investigation shows we believe hundreds of thousands of dollars exchanged hands over the course of the alleged conduct," said Mark Peters, commissioner of the Department of Investigation.
Prosecutors say a similar dangerous connection led to the deadly gas explosion in the East Village that killed two people and destroyed three buildings back in March of 2015.