At a meeting two weeks ago, city investigators would not say whether or not there had been any criminal influence involved in the enormous, highly controversial and over-budget Croton Water Filtration Plant project in Van Cortlandt Park.

They did say, however, that the investigation into potential mob ties related to the project is ongoing.

It was recently discovered that a prominent executive from one of the job’s primary contractors, Schiavone Construction, a New Jersey outfit, had been indicted for his connection to the Gambino crime family.  

The indicted executive, Peter Delvescovo, is Schiavone’s director of tunneling. Most of Schiavone’s $300 million-plus contract for the filtration plant is for digging, tunneling and hauling dirt.  

Following the indictment on Feb. 8, Schiavone project manager Patrick Rooney sent a letter to the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which is running the project, saying they would need to suspend work partly because of the indictment. Their files had been confiscated by law enforcement and its trucking subcontractor, T & M Maintenance, had been shut down, Rooney wrote. Investigators say T&M’s shutdown was also related to the indictment.

The DEP responded the same day in a letter to Rooney. “You are directed to immediately resume all work performance towards the timely completion of this project,” wrote DEP Director of Facilities Construction Michael Borsykowsky.

While he refused to go into details about the investigation, David Kantor, a commissioner for the city’s Department of Investigation, said the Croton project was probably the most tightly monitored project in the city.