NYC grand jury finds $10M in goverment contract fraud
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City grand jury says more than $10 million that was supposed to go to minority- and women-owned contractors on government construction projects instead was diverted to other businesses over a decade.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. unveiled the findings Monday. One contractor has been indicted on scheming to defraud and other charges so far, and the probe is continuing.
New York City and state both set goals for minority- and women-owned businesses to get certain percentages of government contracting work.
But the grand jury found some contractors generated phony invoices and otherwise faked claims that they got services or supplies from minority and female businesses.
The report's recommendations include changing the scheming to defraud law to allow tougher penalties for bigger-dollar schemes.
BRIDGEPORT – The planned January 5, 2015 opening of a new 18,000 square-foot addition to Black Rock School has been pushed back to the end of January, city officials confirmed over the weekend.
The addition, more than a year in the making, will add 10 new classrooms, a multipurpose room that can serve as a gymnasium and assembly space, elevator access to all floors to make it ADA compliant, two new playground structures and a new entrance area on School Street. The addition was designed by Newman Associates of New Haven and Bismark Construction is the construction manager. The addition will cost $8.8 million, with the state paying 80 percent.
Griffin's Phoenix Crossing horizontal work progresses
As construction nears completion on Amazon.com's first New England fulfillment center in Windsor, so, too, is commercial landlord giant Griffin Land finishing "horizontal development" of its Phoenix Crossing industrial park. Amazon's 1.5 million-square-foot warehouse-distribution center, now set to open as early as February, is smack in the middle of 270-acre Phoenix Crossing, straddling Bloomfield and Windsor. Of the seven lots that comprise Phoenix Crossing, Amazon's new facility and another building take up two, leaving five available for building, said Griffin senior development vice president Tim Lescalleet. One is a 64-acre parcel zoned to accommodate a building nearly the size of Amazon's. Horizontal laying of roads and utilities is typically a precursor to "vertical development'' of buildings, houses and other structures in a commercial park or residential subdivision. At Phoenix Crossing, a new road — Goodwin Drive — was recently "cut" while existing Old Iron Ore Road was enlarged, and both surfaced with a base asphalt layer. The last installation of curbing and buried electrical, water-sewer, and natural gas lines are underway ahead of this season's freezes, Lescalleet said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Four Litchfield County residents have been indicted in connection with a series of fraudulent real estate and insurance deals, along with the alleged arson of a vacation home, the U.S. Attorney’s office said Friday. On Thursday, a grand jury in New Haven returned a seven-count charging the four men — Ryan Geddes, 41, of Litchfield; Jason Calabrese, 43, of Watertown; Richard Geddes, 41, of Bethlehem; and Dustin Whitten, 31, of Thomaston — with multiple conspiracies involving bank, mail and wire fraud, prosecutors said. The four men were arrested Friday morning and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joan Margolis. All four were released after posting bond.
A fifth man, Thomas Provenzano, 47, of Torrington,
was indicted separately and pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to obstruct justice and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. The schemes started in 2005, after Ryan Geddes, the owner of construction and paving businesses and other enterprises, had incurred several debts, including a business debt of $490,000 he was being sued over, according to the indictment. He and the other men began the series of schemes to conceal Ryan Geddes’ assets from creditors, obtain money by false and fraudulent pretenses from others, to obstruct and impede the investigation of the schemes and to defraud banks and insurance companies, authorities allege.From 2005 to 2007, Ryan Geddes, Calabrese and others prepared three false mortgage loan and mortgage refinancing applications for properties at 27 Palmer Road, Morris and 669 Goshen Road, Torrington. Calabrese was at the time a Waterbury-based mortgage broker, according to the indictment. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Equipment Leasing and Finance Industry Confidence at Six-Month High
The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (the Foundation) released the November 2014 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI). Designed to collect leadership data, the index reports a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future as reported by key executives from the $903 billion equipment finance sector. Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 64.2, an increase from the October index of 60.4 and the highest level since May. When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI-EFI survey respondent Valerie Hayes Jester, president, Brandywine Capital Associates Inc., said, “The mid-term elections are now over and consumer confidence seems to be improving as gas prices and unemployment statistics continue to decrease. We have experienced an increase in demand for capital equipment purchases and, more importantly, financing for those orders. Another important note is that the equipment being requisitioned appears to be associated with business expansion and not just replacement of older assets.”
November 2014 Survey Results
The overall MCI-EFI is 64.2, an increase from the October index of 60.4.
• When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 27.3 percent of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, up from 23 percent in October. 69.7 percent of respondents believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, down from 74 percent in October. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Winsted bridge fix to start in 2016
WINSTED — The reconstruction of the Holabird Avenue bridge is not likely to start until 2016.
State Department of Transportation spokesman Kevin Nursick said last week the department's "current schedule suggests that the project will start in the spring of 2016." He said he was not sure whether the state bond commission had officially approved the funding for the widening of the bridge "but the project is definitely funded." State officials announced in January that the state will cover the project's entire cost. Jay Costello, one of the engineers that designed the bridge, said the project is estimated to cost $4 million. Costello, vice president of WMC Consulting Engineers in Newington, led an informational presentation on the project at the Inland and Wetlands commission meeting last week. He said the DOT is reviewing the design while WMC pursues the necessary permits.
He said the project still requires a wetlands permit even though he expects minimal impact to wetlands. The bridge crosses the Still River. Nursick said the Army Corp of Engineers needs to issue a permit. He also said the project requires right-of-way easements, utility appurtenances and a flood management certification from the DOT. The bridge is close to Northwestern Connecticut Community College, a fire house, the Whiting Mills artist studios and many homes and businesses.
The project calls for widening the bridge from 22 feet to 34 feet so it matches the width of the road.
"The bridge is quite a bit narrower than the road which is a bit of a hazard," Costello said.
The project also calls for replacing the deteriorating superstructure, which is the portion of the bridge that supports the deck and connects one substructure element to another. Costello said the project's estimated completion time is 300 days. "We're hoping we can get it done in one season but it might dribble over into another season, depending on when it starts," he said. The bridge will be closed during construction. The project has been delayed for more than 10 years due to inadequate funding. State lawmakers like Rep. Jay M. Case, R-Winsted, Sen. Clark J. Chapin, R-New Milford, and Rep. David A. Scribner, R-Brookfield, pushed for the state to fund it because of the town's financial difficulties. The bridge was built in 1955. While in poor condition, its structure is in decent shape and not in danger of collapsing, according to the DOT. Costello noted that the surface was paved in the spring so should the project not begin until 2016 motorists should have no problem traveling over it. The DOT estimates nearly 3,000 vehicles travel on the bridge daily.
Council briefed n Groton Middle School plan
Groton - Superintendent Michael Graner outlined the latest plan for a new middle school on the Merritt property next to Robert E. Fitch High School for the Town Council on Monday.The proposed three-story middle school would house about 900 students in grades 6 through 8, and have an entrance off Fort Hill Road. The property would include four playing fields - two rectangular fields including one with artificial turf, a softball field and a baseball field. Graner presented the plans during a joint meeting of the council and Groton Board of Education. The fields are a key part of the plan, according to town officials, because Groton has a shortage of playing fields and councilors recently heard a plan to use the same property for recreation. Graner said he believes both can be woven together. If playing fields are build as part of a school plan, the town will also get state reimbursement for a portion of their costs, he said. Councilor Bruce Flax said if the plans could address the need for a new school and more playing fields, "I think it's a home run."The middle school would be about 500 feet north of Fitch High School at its farthest point, so students and teachers would be able to walk back and forth, Graner said. For example, teachers with small, advanced math classes at the high school could also teach at the middle school, providing a more efficient use of staff, Graner said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Southington OK's study into sports complex proposal
SOUTHINGTON — A Cheshire engineering firmhas been awarded a $48,000 contract with the town to determine if a privately owned parcel off West Queen Street is suitable for a sports complex. The contract is part of the town's efforts with the Sepko family to find a developer to build a sports complex on 34 acres the family owns near West Street. The Sepko family signed a marketing agreement with the economic development agency in September. The contract states the owners will reimburse the town for preliminary site studies to determine if a sports complex can be built there.The contract is with Woodard and Curran of Cheshire, among eight firms that responded to a request for proposals. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE