New York City's Economic Development Corp. has reacted strongly to a new audit by the city comptroller that says the agency allowed locally-based Turner Construction Co. to rack up more than $3 million in "dubious" payments on a construction and facilities management contract. The comptroller says the contract had ballooned to nearly $74 million from $7.5 million in three years. It involved a variety of projects, including a garage and pedestrian protection during pier repairs. "We are disappointed that after a 16-month review, the Comptroller's Office has issued an audit report that is flawed, misleading and draws unsupported conclusions,” said
The U.K. government has come under fire for delaying implementation of tough new anti-graft legislation that had been due to take effect this April. But construction and other industry sectors welcome the government’s recently announced review of guidelines on how the law will be applied. “We are working on the guidance to make it practical and comprehensive,” says a Ministry of Justice spokesman. He would not speculate as to when the new guidance would be released but says the law will take effect three months after that. An anti-corruption advocate, Neill Stansbury supports the new construction rules. “We need to
Bovis Lend Lease has agreed to pay back New York City $5 million for overcharges on more than 100 municipal projects over the past decade, the city said on Jan. 5. The firm charged the city for overtime and extra pay to foremen “for which they had not worked,” according to the announcement. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and city Dept. of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said the case was based on an analysis of records “and practices” on more than 100 city-funded jobs that Bovis had managed between 1999 and 2009. “This settlement shines a light on one such
The Deutsche Bank fire trials have been postponed, ENR has learned. Photo: AP The 2007 fire at Deutsche Bank’s lower Manhattan demolition site killed two New York City firefighters. Related Links: Defendants in Fatal Ground Zero Fire Face Manslaughter Trial in January The trial of three former contractor employees indicted in connection with a fatal 2007 fire at the vacant Ground Zero high-rise was originally set to begin Jan. 18, but that no longer is the case, says a spokeswoman for one of the defense attorneys. No new date has yet been set. Parties in the case are set to
Bovis Lend Lease has agreed to a $5-million settlement with the city to settle a civil case contending that the firm had overcharged it on more than 100 municipal projects over the past decade, says a Jan. 5 announcement by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. According to the announcement, Bovis charged the city for overtime and extra pay to foremen on jobs “for which they had not worked.” Bloomberg and city Dept. of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said the case was based on an analysis of records “and practices” on more than 100 city-funded jobs that Bovis had managed between
Chad Van Zee, president of a ready-mix concrete company in Rock Valley, Iowa, has pleaded guilty to fixing prices with another concrete supplier from northwestern Iowa between 2006 and 2009. The prosecutor for the U.S. Dept. of Justice filed a single-count felony charge against Van Zee on Nov. 30 in U.S. District Court in Sioux City, Iowa. The charge says Van Zee and Steven Keith Vandebrake, a former executive of a ready-mix company in Orange City, Iowa, violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by agreeing on annual price increases for ready-mix concrete and selling the product at collusive and non-competitive prices.
A former executive with a United Kingdom subsidiary of the then-Kellogg, Brown & Root Inc. has pleaded guilty to a charge that he conspired to bribe Nigerian government officials to win contracts for a $6-billion project in that country, the U.S. Dept. of Justice said. Related Links: Halliburton Terminates Relations with Former CEO A. Jack Stanley Ex-KBR CEO Guilty of Bribery Nigeria charges former US VP Cheney over bribery KBR Statement Wojciech J. Chodan, a former commercial vice president and consultant to the KBR subsidiary, entered a guilty plea on Dec. 6 in federal district court in Houston on one
Schiavone Construction Co. agreed on Nov. 29 to a $22.4-million settlement of a federal probe into its use of phony companies in place of legitimate minority and women-owned subcontractors on big New York City infrastructure jobs. The news recalled the case of Reagan-era Secretary of Labor Raymond Photo: Couretesy of Total Impact Communicaitons Alleged subcontracting fraud by contractor occurred on Manhattan’s South Ferry subway station rehab and other New York City jobs. Related Links: Justice Department Press Release Schiavone No-Prosecution Agreement Joint Statement of Facts Donovan. Before entering the public sector, he was a principal at Schiavone, one of the
Schiavone Construction Co. has agreed to pay a $22.4-million settlement of a federal investigation of Schiavone’s use of phony companies in place of legitimate minority-owned businesses on four big New York City infrastructure contracts, prosecutors said Nov. 29. Photo: NYC DEP Subcontracting on Croton water filtration plant in Bronx, N.Y. and other projects are at center of fraud settlement. Related Links: Investigators Target Big Firms In Minority Hiring Probe Feds Drop Charges Against Schiavone Manager Donovan Wins Dismissal of Sale-Related Lawsuit Donovan: Give Me Back My Reputation! The payment is a “civil settlement agreement” made with the U.S. Attorney in
Michael Forde, former executive secretary-treasurer of the carpenters’ union district council in New York City, was sentenced on Nov. 19 in U.S. district court in Manhattan to 11 years in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in a 15-year racketeering scheme. Pleading guilty in July to racketeering charges, he admitted to taking bribes from multiple contractors, helping union firms cheat union benefits funds out of millions of dollars, rigging job assignments and obstructing investigations into his conduct. Forde, 56, was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and to compensate the union and its benefits funds an
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