Feds: Businessman ran $1.5 million scam at Detroit Metro Airport

A corruption scandal is unfolding at Detroit Metro Airport involving a millionaire businessman who allegedly billed for a $1.5 million ice-melting product that he never actually bought.

The contractor allegedly pocketed the money with help from the inside, court records show. And it wasn't his first misstep.

Gary Tenaglia, 64, of Rochester, who had contracts to remove snow and ice from the Blue Deck parking deck at Detroit Metro, was charged in U.S. District Court Monday with wire fraud conspiracy. He allegedly submitted a fake invoice to the Wayne County Airport Authority in 2014 saying that he had purchased $1.5 million worth of a specialty deicer that works better than salt.

But he didn't buy the good stuff, prosecutors allege. And his company, Envision Engineering & Maintenance, never did the work he was supposed to do, they allege.

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According to the charging document, Tenaglia, who made headlines two years ago when he bought the Big Buck Brewery in Auburn Hills, pulled this airport billing scam off with at least two other, unnamed co-conspirators. The scheme was uncovered following an audit of bills paid out by the airport authority, records show.

Electronic evidence helped trigger charges against Tenaglia, who allegedly wrote an e-mail on May 2, 2014, that included a "false invoice of a co-conspirator purporting to show that Envision had purchased NAAC deicer when it had, in fact, not done so."

Tenaglia was not readily available for comment.

The Wayne County Airport Authority issued a statement Monday saying it is " aware of the FBI investigation involving the owner of a former WCAA contractor. WCAA has been fully cooperative in the investigation pertaining to alleged actions that occurred between 2012 and 2014. However, we cannot comment further at this time given the pending proceedings.”

This is not Tenaglia's first brush with the law.

In 1999, Detroit Edison accused Tenaglia of stealing $7,811.27 in electricity over 12 months to power his $1.6-million house. He was accused of tunneling into underground power lines to bypass the meter. Tenaglia, who was an electrical contractor at the time, was charged with public-utility fraud, a felony that carried a maximum sentence of up to four years in prison.

In March 2000 he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor larceny and paid $15,400 in fines and restitution.

Tresa Baldas can be reached at tbaldas@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @Tbaldas.