The Dept. of Justice charged a former Alberici Constructors Inc. vice president and another man over an alleged kickback scheme that prosecutors say cost the company $4.8 million.A federal grand jury in St. Louis, where Alberici is based, indicted former vice president, Clone Jefferson Oliver, and Georgia businessman Kenneth Simmons June 13.Oliver (aka Jeff Oliver or J.J. Clone) and Simmons are also defendants in a civil lawsuit filed by Alberici in April 2011 on similar claims of a fraudulent kickback scheme. The civil lawsuit has yet to be resolved.The criminal charges are the result of investigations by the Federal Bureau
Norr Engineering Testimony at a commission of inquiry shows mall owner's unusual approach to repairing the mall's leaky roof. Related Links: Elliot Lake Commission Inquiry Testimony Engineer Cited in Fatal Ontario Mall Rooftop-Garage Collapse Set to Plead Not Guilty Where once it looked like the entire blame for a fatal mall roof section collapse in northern Ontario last June would rest on the shoulders of a single engineer and his employer, testimony given in Toronto at a special provincial inquiry about the accident now shows a series of missteps and sloppy practices that may have contributed to the disaster.Testimony presented
Ontario Commission of Inquiry Robert Wood, former president of M.R. Wright & Associates, testifies at commission of inquiry hearing into the fatal 2012 mall roof collapse. Related Links: Testimony Shows Complex Roots of Deadly Mall Collapse (subscribers only) A communication breakdown at an Ontario engineering firm contributed to flaws in an inspection that failed to detect weaknesses in a mall roof before it collapsed.The engineer who wrote a report based on a visual inspection, stating that the mall roof was sound in May only weeks before the roof slab collapsed last June 23, killing two women inside, also had a
Related Links: Dept. of Justice press release Other related documents from Justice Dept. In the latest development in a long-running federal case, a former Willbros International Inc. consultant has been sentenced to a prison term for taking part in an alleged conspiracy to bribe Nigerian officials in connection with a pipeline project in the Niger Delta, the U.S. Dept. of Justice said.In federal district court in Houston on May 3, Paul G. Novak was sentenced to 15 months in prison. Novak also was directed to pay a $1-million fine and serve two years of supervised release after his prison term.According
Courtesy of St. Mary's County, Md. Architectural rendering of the future Patuxent Naval Air Station Museum. Federal investigators are reportedly trying to locate the source of fraudulent surety bonds provided to a small Maryland prime contactor for its work on a museum and visitor’s center at the Patuxent Naval Air Base in St. Mary’s County, Md. The county has taken steps to terminate the contractor, an action its attorneys say they are trying to prevent because their client has been the victim of a fraud and has lost $175,000 in premium paid for the bonds.The performance bond covered the contractor’s
AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool Rescue workers look for trapped people after a residential building collapsed in Thane, Mumbai, India, on April 4. Related Links: BBC: Indian Police Arrest Nine in Mumbai Building Collapse Reuters: Death Toll Rises to 72 in Mumbai Building Bollapse An eight-story apartment building that collapsed and killed more than 70 people in Mumbai has exposed India's illegal housing sector, corruption among builders and a lack of policy in place to keep the public safe. Before it toppled, the building had been under construction for about five weeks, sources familiar with the accident say.As developing cities expand, the
Related Links: Uganda Defies Egyptian Threats Over Nile River Projects IGG report faults Uganda Energy staff on Karuma After canceling a $2.2-billion engineering, procurement and construction contract with a Chinese firm for a 600-MW hydropower dam, Uganda is seeking to qualify a new list of international EPC bidders in order to salvage the Karuma project.According to Uganda government officials, China International Water and Electric Corp. (CWE) falsified documents that allowed it to prevail against other international competitors including Salini S.p.A, Vinci Construction, Orascom Construction and South Africa’s Group Five.In late March, after CWE’s successful bid was thrown out, Irene Mulyagonja,
Related Links: Birdsall Services Group website NJ Attorney General's announcement on design firm indictments In an April 1 ruling, a U.S. bankruptcy judge in New Jersey is allowing Eatontown, N.J., engineer Birdsall Services Group to access $1.7 million of state-seized assets for operation and payroll, following the state's March 26 indictments of the firm and seven former executives.They are charged with conspiracy and money-laundering in a six-year system of making large donations to public officials in both parties through small reimbursed employee outlays, says the indictment.Despite state objections, Judge Michael Kaplan agreed that shutdown of the firm, which filed for
Related Links: Pa. Turnpike Commission Grand Jury Report Despite the use of contract award procedures that in theory were objective, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission executives working with key political allies in the state's Democratic party routinely made selections of engineers and contractors based on gifts and political contributions, according to a state grand jury report released March 13.Seated in 2009, the Harrisburg grand jury over the years consulted dozens of witnesses and documents. It charged former Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Chief Executive Joseph Brimmeier with violating the state ethics law. He was arraigned before a state judge in Harrisburg March 14 for