After combing through documents from the pending trail against AAR Contractor Inc. of Latham, Syracuse University officials have concluded that the alleged asbestos removal scam did not target any academic, administrative or residential facilities on campus.

AAR Contractor’s former owners – Alexander Salvagno, 37, and his father, Raul Salvagno, 71 – are currently being tried in Federal Court over allegations that the company failed to remove asbestos during a number of projects, which violates the federal Clean Air Act and Toxic Substance Control Act, according to court documents.

Prosecutors have cited 1,500 sites across upstate New York, and conviction could result in 79 years of prison time for Alexander Salvagno, according to court documents.

Early media reports stated that Syracuse University was among the possible victims of the alleged fraud, but no confirmation of whether the asbestos was removed was available until now.

Early in the investigation, SU spokesman Kevin Morrow and other university officials said the allegations were a concern, but that it was unlikely AAR was involved in any removal operations since the university maintains a specially trained group of Environmental Shop and Physical Plant staff to remove asbestos.

‘If we need to go outside [university staff], there is a preferred list,’ Morrow said. ‘AAR was not, and has not, been on the list.’

Difficulty in obtaining further information from the court presented an obstacle to investigators, as the clerk’s office denied access to the case file to the public, saying the judge was working on the documents.

Sifting through university records would prove even more of a challenge, Morrow said, because hundreds of construction jobs take place on campus every year, and it would take ‘weeks of manpower’ to search the documentation thoroughly.

‘It makes more sense to obtain information from the court, and to wait to go through SU records,’ Morrow said.

In the documents the university obtained from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, it was finally revealed that the construction project identified by media reports took place off campus, at a cogeneration plant owned by Project Orange Associates, Morrow said.

The cogeneration plant produces commercial electricity and steam under an agreement signed in 1991 between SU and POA.

Morrow said that SU has forwarded the relevant documents to POA for further research into the situation.

The District Attorney’s office was unable to comment since the case remains open.

Published on January 28, 2004 at 12:00 pm