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Franklin Lakes business owner must mortgage home to avoid jail in workers compensation case

EXCLUSIVE: A Franklin Lakes man can avoid jail time if he takes out a mortgage on his house to repay $111,813 to the state Uninsured Employer’s Fund, under an agreement with the state Attorney General’s Office, CLIFFVIEW PILOT has learned.

Photo Credit: Cliffview Pilot File Photo

Daniel Leskanic, a principal in a company named Atlantic Grinding Services, LLC, struck the deal with state prosecutors after being charged with failing to pay workers’ compensation insurance.

He would have faced up to 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted at a trial.

Instead, Leskanic applied for and was admitted into the Pre-Trial Intervention Program for 36 months.

If he complies with the conditions of the program over that period, his record will be wiped clean.

That includes repaying the state $61,939 for medical bills and $17,156 for disability payments after one of his employees suffered “serious injuries to his face and head” when struck by a moving piece of equipment, said state OAG spokesman Peter Aseltine.

The remainder represents attorney’s fees for the worker’s lawyers.

The employee has recovered, Aseltine said, but the injury required significant medical expenses and time out of work.

Aseltine said the man sued Lesknic in civil court to win a judgment for restitution, which put the case on the state Department of Labor’s radar.

The state Uninsured Employer’s Fund reimbursed the employee when Leskanic didn’t pay the civil judgment, he said.

Under the terms of the agreement, Leskanic will be supervised by a probation officer for three years, during which he make pay $200 a month, as well as a $5,000 lump sum within nine months, to satisfy his debt to the state while applying for the mortgage on his home.

The case was handled by state Deputy Attorney General Debra A. Conrad of the Division of Criminal Justice.

STORY: Mary K. Miraglia, CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter

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