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. The payment is a civil settlement agreement' made with the U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn, N.Y. U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch said that the firm admitted that some of its employees engaged in a scheme to defraud public agencies by submitting reports

New York City-based Skanska USA has confirmed that the government is probing subcontracting arrangements made by the company and other large contractors that may have involved phony certified minority and women-owned firms. Photo: NYC DEP Subcontracting on Croton water filtration plant in Bronx, N.Y., set for completion in 2012, is under investigation. The New York Times also reports that Schiavone Construction Co., Secaucus, N.J., is a target of the investigation. Neither firm has been charged with any crime. The investigation, according to published reports involving unnamed sources, centers on contracting activity on the $2.8-billion Croton Water Filtration plant in Bronx,

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

New York City-based Skanska USA has confirmed that the government is probing subcontracting arrangements made by the company and other large contractors that may have involved phony certified minority and women-owned firms. Photo: NYC DEP Subcontracting on Croton water filtration plant in Bronx, N.Y., set for completion in 2012, is under investigation. Related Links: The Croton Water Filtration Plant Project The Fulton Street Transit Center The New York Times also reports that Schiavone Construction Co., Secaucus, N.J., is a target of the investigation. Neither firm has been charged with any crime. The investigation, according to published reports involving unnamed sources,

Blending interviews and historical photographs with breathtaking original high-definition video, BUILDING ALASKA, a 90-minute documentary, recounts the dramatic stories of how engineers, constructors and craft workers built some of the greatest feats of infrastructure in the state�and around the world�under some of the most challenging conditions. Featured are stories on construction of Alaska railroads of the early 20th century; building the Alaska Highway construction and invasion of Alaska by the Japanese in World War II; and rebuilding the state in 1964 after the biggest earthquake ever in North America. The film, written and produced by Great Projects Film Co. Inc.,

ZOGG Jeffrey J. Zogg, a leader of New York state general contractors for more than two decades and an activist in the national Associated General Contractors organization, died Oct. 24 in Delmar, N.Y. The cause of death was sarcoma, a form of cancer, says the Associated General Contractors of New York State LLC. Zogg was 61. Zogg served as the group’s president and CEO since 2008, when it was formed following the merger of the General Building Contractors of New York State (GBC) and AGC’s New York State chapter, which represented heavy and highway construction firms. The combined chapter is

Jeffrey J. Zogg, a leader of New York state general contractors for more than two decades and an activist in the national Associated General Contractors organization, died Oct. 24 in Delmar, N.Y., after a long battle with sarcoma, a form of cancer. Zogg served in that role since 2008, when the chapter was formed following the merger of the General Building Contractors of New York State (GBC) and AGC�s New York State Chapter, which represented heavy and highway construction firms. The combined chapter is now AGC�s sixth largest U.S. chapter. ZOGG He previously served as executive director of the building

The reprieve for a major new commuter rail tunnel under the Hudson River, once set to be the largest public works project in the U.S., never arrived. Proponents of the megaproject, estimated at $8.7 billion, failed to convince New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie (R) that the state would not have to make up cost overruns that some claimed would boost the total price of the project to $13.7 billion. “In the end, my decision is not changed,” Christie said. “I cannot place upon the citizens of the State of New Jersey an open-ended letter of credit.” Christie emphasized his objection

With global ties growing among engineering firms, CEOs of several fast-growing non-U.S.-based players noted new opportunities in moving away from their home countries but also new risks. The executives were among more than 300 U.S. and overseas design-firm CEOs who attended on Oct. 20 in New York City an annual management conference sponsored by EFCG Inc., an industry investment adviser based there. In a survey of 210 EFCG design-firm clients around the globe, companies report that 40% of their reported $83 billion in revenue this year now is derived internationally, up from 26% in 2005 and 7% in 1995. EFCG

Three former New York City project officials indicted in connection with a fatal 2007 fire at a vacant Ground Zero high-rise being cleaned of asbestos and demolished will stand trial on manslaughter and other charges on Jan. 18. A New York state supreme court judge rejected on Oct. 22 motions to dismiss charges. The fire killed two firefighters. Photo: AP August 2007 fire at former World Trade Center site killed two firefighters. Now facing trial related to the Deutsche Bank event are Jeffrey Melofchik, former lead project-safety manager and executive at Bovis Lend Lease; Mitchel Alvo, abatement director for The