Library Lot subcontractor pleads guilty in bid-rigging case in Detroit
A crane towers over as a double trailer from Northville-based R&R Heavy Haulers idles on South Fifth Avenue waiting to pick up a load of dirt from the Library Lot construction site in Ann Arbor earlier this month. The company's owner has pleaded guilty in an unrelated bid-rigging case in Detroit.
Edward Vielmetti | AnnArbor.com
The Detroit Free Press is reporting the federal government snagged a guilty plea Monday in an alleged $12 million bid-rigging case involving controversial contractor Bobby Ferguson, the longtime friend of ex-mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
Rodney Burrell, president and owner of Northville-based R&R Heavy Haulers, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to concealing a crime — that being, a conspiracy to help Ferguson secure a contract involving a Detroit public housing project by rigging bids, the Free Press reported.
Burrell also admitted to misleading a federal grand jury last year about his role in the scheme.
Burrell's R&R Heavy Haulers has been working as a subcontractor on the South Fifth Avenue underground parking structure project in downtown Ann Arbor — a publicly funded project taken on by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. R&R's trucks have been seen hauling away loads of dirt from the Library Lot construction site.
The construction manager in charge of hiring subcontractors on the project is The Christman Co., a company that came under scrutiny earlier this year in an unrelated matter when it awarded a $21.4 million contract for the structural concrete portion of the project to its own subsidiary.
Representatives of Granger Construction Co. aired their grievances publicly at a DDA board meeting in April. They alleged the process by which Christman overlooked Granger — which bid $526,000 less — and then jumped past Colasanti Construction — the second lowest bidder — to award the work to itself was a convoluted "shell game" that raised questions about the integrity of the bidding process and DDA officials who let it happen.
Patrick Podges, vice president of Christman, said his company did not directly hire Burrell's company, but rather hired the Angelo Iafrate Construction Co. of Warren, which then hired R&R Heavy Haulers as a subcontractor.
"We're doing a world-class job," Podges said, adding that whatever Burrell has been doing in Detroit is unrelated to the parking structure project in Ann Arbor.
"Their role on this project is nothing more than bringing trucks in and hauling dirt out and the Christman Co. has no contractual connection whatsoever and had nothing to do with Iafrate hiring Burrell in the first place," Podges said.
Christman, as the construction manager, has given the DDA a guaranteed maximum price of $44.38 million for delivering the project.
Officials from R&R and the DDA could not be reached for comment.
Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.
Comments
digger
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 8:07 p.m.
hey whistle----I'm pretty sure when mr. Snyder takes office one of his goals is to make Michigan A right to work state. Andy Dillon pissed off the unions thats why he did'nt have a chance against Benero. Now he's on Snyders team ----go figure----
Whistleblower
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 4:06 p.m.
A family friend who worked for Granger said that, Granger has a family member who works for a local General Contractor (Carrier Construction). Granger picks Carrier Construction for a lot of their projects. So I find it funny that a, "Representatives of Granger Construction Co. aired their grievances publicly at a DDA board meeting in April." Because they are doing the same thing. Now regarding the minority chatter on here. It is true that a minority owned contractor is more likely to get hired over a non-minority contractor. I know this happens for a fact in Ann Arbor and the surrounding areas. Which is B.S. if you ask me. It's affirmative action for the construction industry. The majority of the time Ann Arbor and the surrounding areas make you use union contractors as well which costs more. This should concern the taxpayers. I'll be honest they are NO better than non-union contractors. The majority of the time the union employees work slower because they know if they get in trouble or fired they'll just call their union reps. and have them picket the project. Unions are a joke in the construction industry and auto industry. If you want to blow the taxpayers money then keep hiring unions because that's what you're doing. I know a lot more than what I'm saying.
walker101
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 10:55 a.m.
I don't believe it.
SemperFi
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 10:26 a.m.
Wow, corruption in the construction business? I'm shocked!
Silly Sally
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 9:31 a.m.
I once worked for a minority contractor company that supplied a bracket to Ford. The parts were made by a white owned firm in Canton, Michigan. These parts were then shipped to Arizona, repackaged by "my" firm, and then shipped back to Michigan, to Ford's Dearborn Assembly plant. Ford paid the higher costs so they could have a minority contractor in their supply chain. Minority contractors raise costs for all, and is filled with fraud. When I went to purchase a part, a box actually, the first thing the purchasing agent for "my" firm asked, "is this from a minority contractor. What if I had said to him, a black man, I'm buying this from this firm because they are white owned? Unbelievable.
Ryan J. Stanton
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 8:30 a.m.
@Chase I guess Iafrate Construction has had its problems, too. Here's a recent Detroit News story: http://www.detnews.com/article/20101119/METRO/11190440/1409/metro From the story: "Two companies have agreed to pay $1.4 million to resolve allegations they submitted false claims on a federally funded runway construction project at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. "Clinton Township-based John Carlo Inc. and Royal Oak-based Angelo Iafrate Construction Co. falsely claimed they used businesses owned by minorities, women and other economically disadvantaged people, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. "They falsely claimed a Detroit company called BN & M Trucking performed a substantial part of the work building a runway at the airport from 2006-08." (Not sure why the News said the company is based in Royal Oak, though. I think that's a mistake.) http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/November/10-civ-1331.html
Chase Ingersoll
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 7:20 a.m.
Ryan: I saw this in public projects in another state with similar corruptions problems to Michigan/Detroit. 15 years ago I represented a minority electrical sub-contractor (black) who had the proper licensing, bonding etc but who was locked out of a multi-million dollar publicly financed project in favor of an insider (friend of a mayor) who did not have the license to do the work, so paperwork was shuffled and another layer of general sub-contractor was created for the minority contractor whose shell company then hired the same sub-contractors that were always used by the general contractor. The general contractor them met the Federal guidelines pertaining to minority representation on the project. 1. Public contracts of this nature require the general contractor to meet "minority contractor participation" percentages/goals. 2. At the same time the sub-contractors have to be "qualified". The result is that you often have to look for minority contractors whose base of business is in an "urban area" (Detroits) where they are not actually minorities, but are rather insiders of majority political machine that set up their business with public expenditures even while playing fast and loose with contract requirements and production standards that are generally adhered to in the less corrupted communities. If race/minority status did in fact play a part in the awarding of the subcontract, AND possibly the awarding of the general contract, this is the "WHY" of the whole story. I think it especially relevant considering the recent stories on problems of roads in Washtenaw County and raises the questions as to a connection between poor roads/bridges and corrupt contractors who are none-the-less provided contracts because they throw a bone to a connected minority contractor that does little more than show up with a pen and a pulse.
digger
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 2:38 a.m.
funny how this washtenaw county and ann arbor CUB AGREEMENT has atracted limited bidders on this work. This contractor was working for another new to AA contractor Ferguson who was attracted to AA by the limited bid list now caused by this illegal CUB.I think it's time people of this city lose this union organizing tactic and again atracted LOCAL contractors back
AA
Tue, Nov 30, 2010 : 10:37 p.m.
Bid Rigging in ole Ann Arbor. C'mon!
ShadowManager
Tue, Nov 30, 2010 : 9:13 p.m.
Oh it just gets better! The downtown A2's biggest construction fiasco of the decade now has a "Kwame Kilpatrick connection". Too rich. Can they just please clean up their mess and re-open that street again?
Rod Johnson
Tue, Nov 30, 2010 : 8:35 p.m.
Sorry, the bid process was Christman hiring Christman. I mean the Christman hiring Iafrate hiring Burrell. But you're right, in a way--you see the same dozen companies logrolling all over Michigan. It's not just Ann Arbor.
Rod Johnson
Tue, Nov 30, 2010 : 8:31 p.m.
@Michigan Reader Huh? Did you not see the part about the sketchy bid process involving Christman, Iafrate and Burrell?
Michigan Reader
Tue, Nov 30, 2010 : 5:31 p.m.
@Atticus F.--Wait! This doesn't involve Ann Arbor!
YpsiBronc
Tue, Nov 30, 2010 : 5:06 p.m.
Good reporting of disturbing information!
Atticus F.
Tue, Nov 30, 2010 : 5:04 p.m.
As far as organized crime per capita, Ann Arbor rates among the highest in the country. I consider it to be like 'mini New York'.
djm12652
Tue, Nov 30, 2010 : 4:44 p.m.
HELLO????? Does this whole thing stink to high heaven to anyone besides me? Or are the powers that be in this town that nave and trust everybody out to make a buck?
marzan
Tue, Nov 30, 2010 : 4:43 p.m.
Wow. That's shady as heck! This DDA deal seems rotten.