Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Construction billing practices being investigated

From Crains:

Federal prosecutors are investigating the billing practices of four more New York City construction giants, radio-station WNYC reported Monday morning. Turner Construction Company, Tishman Construction, Plaza Construction and Skanska USA are now under the FBI's magnifying glass. That news comes after charges filed against Bovis Lend Lease in April ultimately led to an admission of guilt and $56 million in fines.

A grand jury subpoena had been issued to a firm called AECOM, a parent company of Tishman, in December of last year, the report said. But a spokesman from Tishman declined to comment on the investigation.

Turner Construction Company issued a statement this afternoon confirming that they, among other major construction contractors, had been issued a subpoena by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York last December.

Companies currently under investigation are involved in a number of large-scale public projects, including the extension of the 7th Avenue Subway line.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think there was some jail time for the Bovis Lend Lease case. Probably not enough time or convictions, but it is a start.

Anonymous said...

The big real estate businesses in NYC are like rocks, turn one over and you know there will be an infestation of worms.

Crappy loves to get all worked up about illegal aliens in Queens, well I bet 75% of them are here because real estate sub-contractors are eager to hire them (the other 25% working in restaurants, as maids, nannies, etc). When an illegl's leg is crushed in a construction site accident nobody has to pay them worker's comp.

If the city wanted to save itself a lot of time they would investigate every real estate company and contractor and then fine their asses big time - it would raise so much money I bet they not only would NOT have to raise metrocard prices, they could bring a ride back down to 50 cents.

Of course with Bloomberg being so tight with the RE industry, one has to be suspicious-
the current fines may be a kind of prohibitive measure to fend off something bigger, like IRS audits, FBI investigations, lawsuits, etc. Also, maybe the investigations are targeting companies that are competitors with Bloomberg's pals.

If only there was a REAL investigative media out there that would look underneath the surface...