It's not getting any better for troubled insurance broker Earl O'Garro. The man at the center of a federal grand jury investigation in Hartford may soon be arrested for not paying his employees.
Nancy Steffens said the state's wage unit got five complaints last fall from some of Hybrid's former employees.
Officials from the state Department of Labor say they have requested an arrest warrant for O'Garro, alleging that he hasn't paid nearly $25,000 in wages to his employees. Nancy Steffens is the department's spokesperson.
"The agency's wage and workplace standards division requested an arrest warrant for Earl O'Garro Jr. and we have him listed as the owner of Hybrid Insurance Agency," she said.
Hybrid is the company under investigation for, among other things, not paying $670,000 in insurance premiums on behalf of the city of Hartford. The feds are investigating. Meanwhile, the state has revoked O'Garro's insurance license, declared him in default of two substantial public loans, and several civil lawsuits are pending against him. O'Garro hasn't responded to several requests for comment.
Steffens said the state's wage unit got five complaints last fall from some of Hybrid's former employees. The amount owed ranges from around $1,600 to just under $15,000. Owing employees more than $2,000 is a violation of state law punishable either by fine or imprisonment.
"Multiple attempts were made to try to contact Mr. O'Garro," Steffens said. "And after those attempts did not work, the decision was made to apply for an arrest warrant."
Steffens also said the warrant has been signed by a state court judge, and is now in the hands of state police. That could not be immediately confirmed.
