A U.S. District Court judge in Newark, N.J., has ordered Gordon D. McDonald, a former project manager at two New Jersey Superfund sites, to pay $4.36 million in restitution for his role in a $1.5-million bid-rigging, fraud and kickback schemes involving subcontract awards.In an Oct. 20 ruling, Judge Susan Wigenton said that nearly $4 million of the judgement against McDonald, a former project manager for Niagara Falls, N.Y.-based Sevenson Environmental Services Inc., would go to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.McDonald was convicted last September on multiple counts and now is serving a 14-year prison term. At the time, the U.S.
Photo courtesy of ABA construction forum Construction attorneys at American Bar Association Chicago meeting shared strategies for ID'ing untruthful trial participants and covering added risk in teaming arrangements and project delivery, Related Links: American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry Teaming arrangements on many projects are creating new legal hurdles, such as protection of proprietary information, equipment ownership and the departure or termination of team members, according to Dallas attorney Charles E. Hardy."It can get expensive if you're not protected," he said during the fall meeting of the American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry.The former counsel for
Photo by PR newswire $6-billion LNG project in Hackberry, La., set to break ground next month, will challenge region's craft-labor supply. Related Links: Chemical company Sasol to begin construction on $8B ethane cracker complex near Lake Charles Website for AGC National Worker Shortage Survey and Regional/State breakdowns The construction craft and professional worker shortage is worsening, says a new Associated General Contractors' survey of 1,000 construction firms, but the workforce outlook did not appear to daunt chemical giant Sasol from making, on Oct. 27, a final investment decision for its $8.1-billion ethane cracker in Lake Charles, La., that anticipates a
Charles F. Vachris, a Yale University honors engineering graduate who went on to found his own geotechnical and foundations engineering firm, died on Oct. 7 in Flower Hill, N.Y. He was 75. The apparent cause was a heart attack, the firm said. Vachris founded Vachris Engineering pc, based in Garden City, N.Y., in 1982 after working in his family's construction business and was its president. He also served in the Army Corps of Engineers and obtained a master's degree in engineering at Columbia University. Vachris, who was a member of The Moles, a national heavy construction professional group, since 1968,
photo courtesy of U.S. Africa Command The U.S. Africa Command is assisting in equipment and personnel support in West Africa. Related Links: U.S. Africa Command website World Bank Ebola Website With the deadly Ebola virus spreading in West Africa—and beyond—global industry firms are helping with relief efforts in the region and coping with impacts on projects. The outbreak, which the World Health Organization says has killed some 4,500 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone this year, threatens growth in the region.Earlier this month, Fluor Corp. won a $21-million task order under its U.S. Army Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP
Related Links: Website of RWDI On line death notice of Walter Podolny Jr., memorial service details Online obituary- Henry C. Hines Website of The DiSalvo Engineering Group WilliamsColin J. Williams, 66, an expert in microclimate impacts on building performance and founding partner of Canadian design firm Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin, died on Sept. 17 in Elora, Ontario. The cause of death was cancer, says the company. In a 40-year career at the Guelph, Ontario, firm, he helped grow it from a small regional company to a 400-person global consultancy, says CEO Michael Soligo. Williams “was a much published author
GloverAECOM confirms that David Glover, its London-based global CEO of building engineering, will depart at the end of October to become chief executive of Intelligent Engineering, a U.K.-based consulting firm.
Request your approval for release of responses about LOGCAP support to Ebola region; LOGCAP, ACC-RICC assembled responses.1. What is $ value of the task order awarded to Fluor Corp. related to military housing and facilities for personnel to support Ebola relief, as I understand the purpose?Response: At this time, the total current value awarded to Fluor for support of this mission is $21.1M.2. What is the scope of the task order to construct what type of facilities, for whom, and for how many military personnel?Response: The scope is for emplacement of Force Providers for military use and Ebola Treatment Units
Related Links: Balfour Beatty website: investors Financial Times: Balfour Beatty names Qinetiq head as chief executive Balfour Beatty: New chief exec speaks QuinnLeo Quinn, who began his career in 1979 as a civil engineer at now-struggling U.K. construction services giant Balfour Beatty, will return to the firm as CEO in January. The global contractor announced his appointment on Oct. 15, five months after the departure of Andrew McNaughton. Quinn, who will replace Executive Chairman Steve Marshall in the CEO role, joins the contractor after five profit warnings in the past two years and some analyst speculation over whether, before the
Photo Courtesy of CREW Network CREW Network President Judith Nitsch, an engineering firm exec (left), queries potential 2016 presidential contender Hillary Clinton on womens' risk-taking and role in the economy at Miami conference. Related Links: Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Website Improving global economics and changing social trends offer encouraging signs for commercial development and near-term building prospects, speakers told the more than 1,200 attendees of the Commercial Real Estate Women, or CREW, annual conference in Miami.Rival expansions of the Panama and Suez canals, for example, are spawning upgrades to ports and related global building and transport development, experts said
