After years of delays, blown budgets, nasty squabbles and workers getting drunk during lunch, the troubled World Trade Center site could soon face a new scandal — a probe into alleged financial fraud by construction companies working there.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is investigating Ground Zero subcontractors for allegedly paying their hard hats off the books and ducking mandated contributions into workers’ pension funds, prosecutors said.

“It’s going to be big,” said DA Robert Morgenthau.

“These companies are saying to their workers, ‘We’re going to pay you directly in cash.’ So they’re not paying into the fund and they’re not paying taxes.”

The probe seeks to establish how much has been lost in unpaid taxes and pension payments. The total is suspected to be in the millions.

The two main general contractors at the World Trade Center site, Bovis Lend Lease and Tishman Construction, employ dozens of subcontractors.

Asked if Bovis or Tishman knew about the alleged fraud, Morgenthau said, “It’s one of the things we’re looking into.”

Source: NY Post