Gas Pipeline Inspectors Indicted for Fabricating Test Results

An inspector, hired by Con Edison to do safety inspections of gas pipelines in the Bronx and Westchester have been sentenced for fabricating the test results.

Between 2016-2023 Michael Vasconcellos and Liam Treibert were hired to perform safety inspections on hundreds of welds in the pipeline but never performed the work.

Instead, the indictment says they used “radaring,” which typically involved “radiographing the same weld twice and then passing off one copy of films as having come from a second weld. For instance, a radiographer might radiograph Weld A twice and then claim that the second set of films is of Weld B, even though the radiographer never inspected Weld B.”

Vasconcellos was sentenced to 30 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay over $64 million in restitution to Con Edison.

The utility installed the gas pipeline in Scarsdale, extending from White Plains down to Fox Meadow Road during that period.

Following a public meeting at Scarsdale Village Hall on September 21, 2026, Con Edison denied that the indicted inspectors worked in Scarsdale. However, Con Edison announced that it would dig up the pipeline in 40 sites for inspections, due to “fraudulent reporting.”

At that same meeting Con Edison agreed that they would repair sewer lateral lines along Walworth Avenue that were damaged by the pipe installation. They declined to report how many were damaged, and to date no work has been done. Residents estimate that somewhere between 40-80 homes were affected, and repairs are estimated at $40,000 each. The project appears to be stalled and residents cannot sell their homes until the repairs are made.

Since the pipeline was never completed south of a portion of Fox Meadow Road there is currently no gas running through it. It was planned to deliver gas all the way to Queens.

When and if gas flows through the pipeline, any defective welds would pose a serious risk for leaks or explosions.

Read the press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York here.