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Topic: The never ending Rizzo Trash deal
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Detroit — Dino Bucci, the Macomb Township trustee and former right-hand man of Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Anthony Marrocco, was freed on $10,000 bond Thursday after being arraigned in connection with the county corruption scandal.

U.S. Executive Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen ordered Bucci to surrender his passport and not leave Michigan while awaiting trial in a widening corruption case that has led to charges against 18 people.


Bucci, 58, dressed in a blue suit and flanked by attorney Stephen Rabaut, declined comment while leaving court after the brief arraignment.

The arraignment came one day after Bucci was charged with bribery, extortion, fraud, theft and money laundering in an 18-count indictment that accuses the politician of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars while extorting engineering contractors who wanted public contracts, forcing county employees to drive his child to school and plow snow at his home.

The wide-ranging corruption investigation is focused on at least three fronts: Macomb County politicians pocketing bribes in exchange for approving municipal contracts with Sterling Heights trash hauler Rizzo Environmental Services, Grosse Pointe Shores businessman Gasper Fiore’s towing empire and the Macomb County Public Works office.

The indictment came one month after Bucci was referenced in a plea deal involving township contractor Christopher Sorrentino. Sorrentino admitted delivering $66,000 in bribes to an unnamed politician at the public works office. The News previously reported that Bucci was the unnamed politician.

Prosecutors allege Bucci participated in a nine-year bribery conspiracy with other public officials and contractors.

Feds: 'Pay-to-play politics' in Macomb County
The criminal allegations against Bucci involve several other figures who have been charged amid the year-long investigation. Those include Rizzo Environmental Services CEO Chuck Rizzo, former Macomb Township Trustee Clifford Freitas and engineering contractor Paulin Modi.

If convicted, Bucci could spend more than 20 years in federal prison.

Bucci directed contractors to give him tens of thousands of dollars in cash, checks and gift cards in exchange for public contracts, according to the government.

Contractors also gave him hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks and cash for political fundraising events, including golf outings and dinners in exchange for county and township contracts, according to the indictment.

During the conspiracy, Bucci also served as operations manager for the county’s public works office.

Trash giant Rizzo pleads guilty to bribery
Prosecutors describe a “pay-to-play” culture that required contractors to give money to Bucci and buy tickets to political fundraisers for the township politician and political allies.

Bucci used his county and township positions to extort money from people by threatening to withhold development permits and home construction, prosecutors said. Bucci pocketed tens of thousands of dollars in cash and kickbacks during a five-year period, according to the indictment.

Bucci stole from the county by using employees and equipment on personal projects, prosecutors said. He forced employees to plow snow at his home and mom’s house “every time it snowed,” prosecutors said.

During heavy snowfalls, Bucci forced county employees to plow at his friends’ and relatives’ homes, according to the indictment.

County employees were forced to plow snow at Bucci’s home before plowing county facilities, prosecutors said.

The charges also come six months after Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller said a federal grand jury was investigating her office during Marrocco’s tenure and had subpoenaed testimony from about a dozen public employees.

FBI agents were asking questions about Marrocco, who lost to Miller in the November election; Bucci, his former deputy; and millions of dollars in payments to an unnamed county contractor, Miller said.

The indictment capped a tumultuous year for Bucci.

He was placed on administrative leave from his $75,000-a-year job as operations manager for the engineering department in January. He retired after being accused in a civil lawsuit of soliciting a $76,000 kickback from a local investment company that wanted a refund on certain development fees.

In February, Miller wrote a letter accusing Bucci of “corruption, extortion, bullying and unethical behavior” while outlining how a county internal investigation determined he could face discipline or be fired.

Rather than respond to Miller’s letter, Bucci resigned after working for the county since 1993.

rsnell@detroitnews.com

(313) 222-2486
Post Mon Nov 20, 2017 8:17 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Rizzo expands empire after pumping cash into campaigns
www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/11/29/rizzo.../94646208/
Nov 29, 2016 - Candice Miller, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, and Macomb County Executive Mark ...
Post Mon Nov 20, 2017 8:54 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Rizzo expands empire after pumping cash into campaigns
Robert Snell and Michael Gerstein, The Detroit News Published 11:00 p.m. ET Nov. 29, 2016 | Updated 10:20 a.m. ET Nov. 30, 2016


Detroit — Two political action committees linked to a garbage hauler at the center of an FBI corruption investigation and its former CEO have pumped more than $174,000 into political campaign coffers in communities that have awarded the firm multimillion dollar contracts, public records show.

The contributions since 2011 illustrate the split personality of Sterling Heights-based Rizzo Environmental Services. Interviews, campaign finance and federal court records show Rizzo’s political action committee funneled legal campaign funds to dozens of politicians while a top executive allegedly bribed elected officials in exchange for votes and favorable treatment.

“The problem here is that what is available to the public is what was ‘on the table,’ ” said Craig Mauger, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. “The authorities seem to be focusing on what was ‘under the table,’ which the public has no idea of what’s going on.”

Campaign contributions from Rizzo’s political action committee, a related group and ex-CEO Chuck Rizzo Jr. were given directly to or benefited dozens of political candidates in 23 Metro Detroit communities. Those contributions targeted races in communities that have hired Rizzo to haul garbage in recent years and awarded the firm no-bid, multi-year contract extensions.

The groups also gave an additional $94,550 to candidates running for countywide posts in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

Metro Detroit’s most prominent politicians are on the list – including Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, and Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel. But relatively obscure, local politicians received some of the largest contributions, campaign finance records show.


Interactive map: Rizzo's reach in Metro Detroit
The money coincided with a spike in the number of communities hiring Rizzo, state and local records show. In 2013, the firm served 22 area communities but three years later, after forming a political action committee that has grown into one of the state’s largest, 54 communities have hired Rizzo.

The contributions, in almost all cases, came before Rizzo was acquired Oct. 1 by Toronto-based GFL Environmental Inc. CEO Chuck Rizzo Jr. resigned from his namesake company late last month amid a widening federal bribery investigation.

GFL says the campaign contributions were an essential business expense, especially since its rival Waste Management also poured thousands into area campaign coffers.

“We earned contracts in additional communities by offering the highest level of service at the best price,” Joseph Munem, GFL’s director of government affairs and public relations, said in a statement. “We support the communities we serve in many ways, from funding charities to sponsoring little league teams to buying tickets to events put on by local elected officials.”

GFL’s top executive said the firm is reassessing its political activity in light of three Macomb County politicians being charged with corruption. The number of politicians facing federal charges is expected to grow as the FBI investigation continues across Metro Detroit.

“(GFL) will be exploring the best ways to participate in a system where our competitors remain extremely active,” company founder/CEO Patrick Dovigi said in a statement.

New PAC formed

The trash hauler’s PAC was established in 2013 and bankrolled primarily by Chuck Rizzo Jr., records show.

The PAC has given more than $310,000 to politicians and special-interest groups in recent years. That figure includes campaign contributions to candidates for statewide races, county posts and in communities where Rizzo does not have trash-hauling contracts.

Chuck Rizzo Jr. has given $7,900 in personal contributions to candidates for local offices in Macomb County since 2011, according to campaign finance records.

Last year, the Rizzo PAC was particularly active in Sterling Heights, the state’s fourth-largest city and Rizzo’s home base.

In 2015, the mayor and six incumbent council members were seeking re-election as the city prepared to seek bids to possibly switch from garbage hauler Waste Management.

Campaign contributions flowed into the Sterling Heights races from Rizzo and a new group.

In January 2015, a new PAC called the Mitten Leadership Fund was established. Its treasurer is Rochester Hills lawyer Jeffrey Hengeveld; its purpose and organizer are unclear.

The Rizzo PAC was one of the Mitten fund’s largest contributors last year, giving $9,000, or 13.4 percent of all money raised by the fund, records show.

Mauger tracks PACs annually — both committees ranked among the largest in the state last year — and said the Mitten fund is unique.

“I have no idea who’s behind it,” Mauger said. “I called and asked who is behind this PAC. They wouldn’t tell me. I found that very odd — extremely odd. It would seem whoever is orchestrating this has gone to some lengths to hide who the fund belongs to.”

Hengeveld, the Mitten fund’s treasurer, did not return a message seeking comment. GFL would not talk publicly about any link between Rizzo and the Mitten fund.

In August 2015, the Mitten fund started spending money in Sterling Heights. Mayor Michael Taylor received $20,000 that month from the Mitten fund, campaign finance records show. By December, Sterling Heights candidates had received $61,500 from the Mitten Fund.

Between the Mitten fund and Rizzo PAC last year, Sterling Heights candidates received more than $71,000.

Since 2013, Taylor’s campaigns have received $26,300, or almost four times as much as Detroit’s mayor has received in the last three years.

A company official said the Rizzo PAC’s contributions in Sterling Heights were in line with those from Waste Management, its chief rival.

Waste Management Employees Better Government Fund Of Michigan gave $10,000 to the Mitten fund last year and $5,850 to the Sterling Heights candidates, records show.

The Sterling Heights mayor and six incumbents won last year’s election.

In April, five months after the 2015 election, Sterling Heights switched from Waste Management and voted unanimously to give Rizzo an eight-year contract worth about $34.8 million.

Rizzo offered the better deal, according to Taylor and City Council meeting minutes.

The city will save about $800,000 because of a 2 percent annual reduction on all services the company offered to the city. Meanwhile, Waste Management would have charged about $247,890 more a year, according to the minutes.

“The bottom line here is that Rizzo provided the best proposal and that’s the reason that they got the contract,” Taylor said. “My vote had nothing to do with campaign contributions. I never ask them why they’re contributing money ... I never ask them what they need me to do to contribute to them.”

Taylor said he met with representatives from both Waste Management and Rizzo because they were the two companies under consideration when the city was looking for a new garbage contract.

“I never discussed with Rizzo anything that they had to do in order to secure the bid,” Taylor said. “I never discussed with Rizzo or with Waste Management what the others’ prices would be. My whole goal all along was to get the best possible price for residents of Sterling Heights and the best possible service. That was it.”

Councilwoman Deanna Koski said her vote was not influenced by the contributions.

“I didn’t know that I got $6,000 from them … and that had absolutely nothing to do with my vote,” Koski said.

“Thank you very much,” she added before hanging up the telephone.

One of the top Rizzo PAC recipients this year was Miller, who won an expensive race this month for Macomb County Public Works commissioner.

Miller received $12,000 from the Rizzo PAC in September but returned the money amid the FBI investigation “because with everything that’s going on she felt it was the appropriate thing to do,” spokesman Jamie Roe said.

“She knew nothing of anything untoward or inappropriate that was going on, which is why she gave it back,” Roe said. “What local communities do with their garbage contracts is the business of local communities. She knew absolutely nothing of it. If she had known, she would have never taken the money in the first place.”

Livonia contributions

The influx of Rizzo cash in the weeks and months surrounding a trash-hauling contract were repeated in Livonia last year.

On June 8, the Rizzo PAC gave $1,000 to Councilman Brian Meakin’s mayoral campaign plus $1,500 in September. The spending was part of a broader pattern last year that saw the Rizzo PAC make a total of $11,668 in direct and indirect contributions benefiting six candidates.

The spending surpassed the Rizzo PAC’s prior involvement in Livonia campaigns. In 2013, for example, four candidate committees split $700.

The 2015 campaign contributions coincided with debate over a new garbage contract.

In September 2015, Livonia City Council voted to give Rizzo a new eight-year garbage contract. The vote was approved by four members — including Meakin and Susan Nash.

Between June and September, Meakin’s campaign committee received $2,500 in contributions from the Rizzo PAC. The “Friends of Susan Nash” committee got $500, campaign finance records show.

Council members Lynda Scheel, Brandon Kritzman and president Maureen Miller Brosnan voted against the new contract for Rizzo, which was $1.65 million lower than Waste Management, according to media reports at the time. The savings led council member John Pastor to support the switch, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Meakin did not return a phone call from The News seeking comment about the Rizzo contributions.

Rizzo’s PAC wasn’t done spending in Livonia after winning the contract.

The month after Rizzo won the contract, Nash’s committee got $1,000 and Pastor’s received $500 from the trash hauler’s PAC.

The PAC also paid $4,168 to an Ohio campaign technology company that specializes in political robo calls – an expense associated with Meakin’s campaign, state records show.

Less than a month after paying for the robo calls, Livonia residents elected a new mayor.

Meakin lost.

rsnell@detroitnews.com

(313) 222-2486

Twitter: @robertsnellnews
Post Mon Nov 20, 2017 8:57 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Oakland Press

Home News
Group bashing governor candidates includes Cox backers
By CHAD SELWESKI
POSTED: 02/10/10, 12:01 AM EST | UPDATED: ON 02/10/2010 0 COMMENTS
A newly created nonprofit organization that has launched a campaign that's bashing two Republican candidates for governor is associated with Macomb County political consultants and local political activists who are supporting GOP front-runner Mike Cox.

The Michigan Civic Educational Fund, based in Mount Clemens, is ready to spend tens of thousands of dollars harshly criticizing Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard and Ann Arbor businessman Rick Snyder, two of Attorney General Cox's leading opponents in the August Republican primary.

The nonprofit MCEF was formed in November by attorney Cecil St. Pierre, attorney Mike Greiner and Warren Assistant City Attorney Jeff Schroder, according to state documents. They have hired political consultant Joe Munem to conduct their "educational" activities about Bouchard and Snyder.

The MCEF first appeared on the political radar screen last week when they launched a highway billboard on a busy section of I-75 near M-59 that questions Bouchard's track record.

The nonprofit group has also set up Web sites raising numerous questions about Bouchard and Snyder.

But it's the tone of the group's radio ads, which are just getting started in southeast Michigan and western Michigan, that will raise eyebrows in political circles across Michigan. One compares Bouchard to the exploits of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and another claims that Snyder was responsible for the "implosion" of his former company.

A spokesman for the Cox campaign has said that the candidate is not "in any way" connected to the MCEF.

But campaign finance records show that Schroder has contributed $550 to Cox's gubernatorial campaign and St. Pierre has donated $250 to the attorney general. Election documents also suggest other connections between the MCEF and the attorney general.

Because MCEF is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, under Internal Revenue Service rules it does not have to report the names of its contributors -- unlike a political committee, which must issue financial documents on a regular basis.

The group can engage in political advocacy, as long as it does not favor one candidate.

Greiner said the group consists of "very, very concerned citizens" who want to ensure that Michigan voters have information about gubernatorial candidates that goes beyond the typical public relations sales pitches. The Warren-based attorney would not release a list of contributors.

"There are lots of people who are the money behind this. I'm one of them. Cecil St. Pierre is one of them. And the list goes on," he said.

As for a perceived connection to Cox, Greiner said the group expects to raise less than $100,000 from a wide variety of sources.

"Yeah, there are people in the group who support Cox. But there are a lot of people who don't," Greiner said.

All of the known players involved have deep connections to Warren city politics.

Munem and Greiner, sometimes working in partnership, became infamous over the past decade for hardball, negative campaigns they orchestrated.

Munem has made his dislike for Snyder well-known in a weekly podcast the consultant co-hosts and in a Web site he created, ripoffrick.com. Three weeks ago, Munem paid for automated phone calls to voters criticizing Snyder.

St. Pierre, who has been a Democrat, a Republican and has also run as a nonpartisan candidate, is a former Warren city councilman.

He has also thrown his hat into the ring for a few gubernatorial appointments to judicial seats.

Greiner is a Democrat, but said he is intervening in the Republican gubernatorial campaign because he is motivated by "my loyalty to my state." Greiner said he and other MCEF members are dismayed by the failures of the Granholm administration over the past years.

The Bouchard campaign has dismissed the billboard and Web site, oaklandsheriff.net, as "gutter politics." But the radio ads go beyond the Web site material.

The MCEF's anti-Bouchard ad implies that he had an affair with a government employee and walked out of a deposition related to a lawsuit claiming he had engaged in sexual harassment. The ad does not mention Kwame Kilpatrick, but it compares Bouchard's behavior to the 2009 scandal that rocked Detroit City Hall.

The anti-Snyder ad said that his tenure as a Gateway Computers executive resulted in the company sending 19,000 jobs overseas, losing 90 percent of its corporate value, and then providing Snyder with a "golden parachute" exit.

In a radio interview Monday, Greiner called Snyder "possibly one of the worst CEOs in America."

Meanwhile, Cox has invested considerable time campaigning in Macomb County.

Warren Mayor Jim Fouts has latched onto Cox in recent months, with both calling for stronger ethics rules in government. In addition, the mayor and the AG appeared together at a spaghetti dinner fundraiser last week in Warren.

Fouts did not return a phone call seeking comments.

Among the other findings, based on campaign finance records:

An obscure political action committee called Macomb Business United is run by one of Fouts' appointees, Warren Deputy Public Service Director Gus Ghanam. The PAC gave $16,850 to the Cox campaign.

The PAC's address is listed as the same location as for MCEF -- St. Pierre's Crocker Boulevard law office in Mount Clemens. Greiner said he is not aware of any connection between Ghanam and the MCEF.

Ghanam, a longtime fixture in Warren politics, personally contributed $550 to Cox. The Ghanam PAC's largest contributor in 2009, by far, was not anyone associated with the Macomb County business community. Macomb Business United received $10,000 from a PAC controlled by GOP state Sen. Bruce Patterson

Patterson is from Canton Township, which is far from Macomb County, but the senator is a close political ally of Cox.

Patterson's group, which focuses on keeping a Republican majority in the state Senate, had already donated the maximum allowed for a PAC to Cox's campaign, $34,000.

Then this "Commanders Majority Fund" made the $10,000 contribution to Macomb Business United on Dec. 31 -- the same day that the business PAC, in turn, contributed $6,600 to the attorney general's gubernatorial effort.

Beyond the distribution of money, Macomb Business United held a fundraiser for Cox on Nov. 4 at the White House Wedding Chapel in Warren. Just 20 people attended and the event lost $1,700.
Post Thu Nov 23, 2017 8:56 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

The largest customer of Rizzo Services was given by Detroit EM Kevin Orr. He alone negotiated the contract. Mayor Duggin says all he can do is enforce the contract. Was Pay to Place at work here? Wewill never know. Guess why Michigan is deald last in transparency and ethics and scored an F.



Up North Progressive
Bernouts are not progressives and give progressives a bad name
Hush Fund or Pay-To-Play: Will We Ever Know The Truth About The Nerd Fund
Friday , 20, June 2014 Up North Progressive Nerd Problems Leave a comment


In a Mother Jones article published today, the writer speculated whether the scandal surrounding Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin could splash over to other Midwestern Republican governors elected in 2010. Snyder’s NERD fund is mentioned with the suggestion that the secret donor fund was actually a “pay to play” scheme for corporations to get kickbacks from Snyder in return for making donations. What was the real purpose of the NERD fund, which no longer exists even though a few employees who once benefited from it are now on the state payroll?

The NERD fund never disclosed donors. CVS Please delete me!’s parent company Caremark’s donation did become public but insists it had nothing to do with the $60 million Please delete me! contract received from Kevyn Orr, who also was compensated through the fund with a lavish condominium in a Detroit Hotel. Kevyn Orr, state taxpayers discovered, was vetted by a man named Richard Baird, who had an office next door to Rick Snyder’s and a .gov email address, but wasn’t until after the NERD fund’s demise put on the state payroll. His salary also came from the NERD fund.

The original purpose of the NERD fund was to supplement the salaries of people Snyder wanted to hire at market rates as an incentive to work for him in Lansing. People accustomed to receiving a certain salary don’t care much for taking a pay cut. What do you do if you’re a governor who wants to hire specific people, but paying them the salary they’re used to receiving from public funds would make the taxpayers of the state of Michigan completely flip out? Set up a private anonymous donor fund and offer those people public sector jobs at private sector pay. That way you can at least have the veneer of ‘shared sacrifice’ that you promised when you became governor.

Richard Baird did the Governor’s dirty work behind the scenes so Snyder wouldn’t have to do it in public. Kevyn Orr became EM of Detroit for a paltry six figure sum, but saving Detroit as far as Orr is concerned is charity work. Orr had a luxury condo paid for from the NERD fund. He was hardly ever in it because he was in Baltimore most of the time while his kids were on summer vacation from school.

And when Snyder raised the salaries as high as 90% for two senior state treasury directors in November of 2013, was this done because the month before the governor had dissolved the NERD fund and that was how much extra those two treasury directors were getting paid from it? All we have unfortunately is speculation. The fund is gone and Snyder says he will never divulge the names of the donors, because even he never knew who they were. It would be interesting to discover if Snyder knew who the beneficiaries were.
Post Sat Nov 25, 2017 10:21 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Warren to re-visit former Rizzo transfer station contract
The Warren City Council wants to revisit its contract with GFL, formerly Rizzo Environmental Services, to operate the city’s transfer station.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GFL ENVIRONMENTAL
The Warren City Council wants to revisit its contract with GFL, formerly Rizzo Environmental Services, to operate the city’s transfer station. PHOTO COURTESY OF GFL ENVIRONMENTAL
By Mitch Hotts, The Macomb Daily
POSTED: 07/10/17, 8:31 AM EDT | UPDATED: ON 07/10/2017 3 COMMENTS
Council members say with fewer recyclables being processed at the transfer station, there is less profit for the company.
IMAGE -- GOOGLE MAPS
Council members say with fewer recyclables being processed at the transfer station, there is less profit for the company. IMAGE -- GOOGLE MAPS
Members of the Warren City Council plan to meet Monday evening to discuss possibly re-negotiating the city’s contract with the former Rizzo Environmental Services to operate the city’s transfer station.

Some council members say the move has no relation to a federal investigation into a bribery scheme involving Rizzo representatives and elected officials from other communities that steered lucrative municipal trash-hauling contracts.

“This has nothing to do with the scandal,” said Robert Boccomino, council secretary. “All we’re doing is going over the costs of the contract. There may be some wiggle room to lower our costs.”

But other council members say the scandal may come up during the meeting. So far, elected officials from five communities are among 12 defendants indicted by a federal grand jury in the scheme.


“We need to cover our bases,” said Councilman Scott Stevens. “We need to look into this. We had leased our transfer station to Rizzo for a 10-year period, that’s the maximum allowed under ordinance. We need to look at the rates as far as us paying them to dispose of our compost and recyclables.”

The former Rizzo Environmental Services, now owned by Green For Life (GFL), had trash contracts in more than 50 communities across the Detroit area before it was dissolved by GFL last year.

The company never had a trash-hauling pact with Warren, which does its own garbage pick-up.

But Rizzo Services held a seven-year, $11.7 million contract to operate ‘s trash transfer station and haul the rubbish to a landfill. The contract came under the tenure of former Mayor Mark Steenbergh in 2001.

The pact expired in 2008, and the city bought new, larger garbage trucks to directly haul trash to a landfill without a middle man.

Prior to that, however, Rizzo had filed a breach of contract lawsuit against the city in Macomb County Circuit Court. At issue were claims the city made repairs at the trash-dumping facility on Flanders Avenue enabling the company to accept private, outside construction debris and other materials that are not part of regular trash pickup at homes and businesses in the city. The city claimed it was owed $840,000 in royalty payments.

Rizzo Services, however, countered it should not have to pay any royalties because two new compactors and an additional “direct dump” system were installed late. The company alleged that tardiness prevented it from privately accepting even more outside solid waste, costing it more than a combined $4 million in higher landfill and trucking expenses.

Warren began withholding its royalty payments, resulting in Rizzo Services to sue for breach of contract. A $5.9 million settlement for Rizzo was reached in 2009, with the money coming from the city’s insurance reserves fund.

At the same time, Rizzo offered to lower its future prices in exchange for a contract extension, which it received.

Now the council will revisit the issue at Monday’s meeting.

The trash market has evolved with fewer recyclables being processed, meaning the city is paying less for that service, Boccomino said.

“The company is trying to make money, while we want to do what’s best for the citizens, so we’re looking for an explanation on how they arrived at their current price,” he said.

Gus Ghanam, who oversees the city’s Sanitation Division and formerly worked for Rizzo Services, on Sunday downplayed the issue.

“Rizzo has since been taken over by another company, so we need to change a few things like the name in the contract,” he said. “It’s pretty simple.”

The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday in Conference Room A of the Warren Community Center, 5460 Arden Avenue.
Post Mon Dec 04, 2017 7:21 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

September 15, 2013 12:00 p.m. UPDATED 3/16/2017
With privatization, less city waste likely to head to incinerator
By Chad Halcom

No matter who comes out a winner among the 10 bidders to collect Detroit's solid waste and recycling contract starting in early 2014, a likely loser in revenue and energy output will be the city incinerator.
The company that owns the waste-to-energy plant, Detroit Renewable Energy LLC, will likely receive less waste at a lower tonnage fee rate after the city finishes privatizing waste collection from its Department of Public Works, said Bill Nowling, a spokesman for Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr.

The city waste contract includes solid waste, bulk disposal, yard waste and single-stream recycling. Bidders can choose to choose to bid on collection only, or collection and disposal.

The Detroit incinerator receives and processes more than 3,000 tons per day of municipal solid waste, with the city as its largest customer. It generates up to 68 megawatts of electricity for DTE Energy Co. subsidiary Detroit Edison Co. and steam for the energy loop that provides heating and cooling steam for 145 buildings in downtown Detroit.

But Detroit's RFP on privatizing waste collection, to which 10 companies responded last week, does not require that all or part of the waste continue flowing to the incinerator.
In fact, three of the 10 bidders collectively own seven of the eight active landfills in the tri-county area, where they'd pay no tipping fees to dispose of waste, and a fourth is going through regulatory reviews to open a new landfill of its own in Macomb County.

Nowling said the city expects private contractors who do haul waste to the plant to charge less per ton to the city than what Public Works pays today to Detroit Renewable Energy subsidiary Detroit Renewable Power, the plant owner.

The city pays around $25 per ton to drop off waste at the incinerator, and Nowling said that's about 20 percent more than some neighboring communities who pre-sort waste or have removed recyclables prior to disposal.

The private bidders who use the incinerator are expected to do the same, and pay a comparable lower rate that would be rolled into what it charges the city, he said.

Sarah Grazier, senior public relations manager at Calypso Communications in New Hampshire and a spokesman for Detroit Renewable Energy, confirmed the $25 per ton rate for Detroit but said the company would not comment on other rates it charges to other customers.

John O'Sullivan, president of Detroit Renewable Power, said in a statement that the company's rates are competitive.

"DRP's central location and large processing capacity (3,300 tons per day) continue to make the plant an attractive disposal option," he said.

The city RFP calls for Detroit to be divided into four geographical regions, meaning multiple haulers may win contracts. Trash collection for about 250,000 households is included in the proposal.

Companies that submitted bids by the deadline to the city Finance Department for review were:

• Midwestern Sanitation Co., which handles trash and yard waste in Westland and garbage and recycling pickup for Taylor, in Wayne County. The Inkster-based company is bidding to become a hauler for only regions 1 and 2, on the city's northwest and near west side, because of their relative proximity to the company's footprint in western Wayne County, said President Paul Ruthenberg.

• Waste Management of Michigan, a subsidiary of Houston-based Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WM) that operates three local landfills — Woodland Meadows in Van Buren Township, Eagle Valley in Orion Township, and Pine Tree Acres in Lenox Township. Eagle Valley also has a renewable energy plant that converts landfill gas into electricity for DTE Energy, Pine Tree Acres has a plant that supplies to Consumers Energy Corp., and Woodland Meadows has been a thermal energy and boiler fuel supplier to Ford Motor Co.

• Rizzo Environmental Services Inc., which has municipal waste hauler contracts with about 30 communities in Southeast Michigan, including more than a dozen in Macomb County. The Sterling Heights-based company is seeking approvals from Macomb and the state to open its own proposed landfill, Clinton Valley Farms, next to Pine Tree Acres in Lenox Township.

• Republic Services Inc. of Phoenix, Ariz., which operates the Carleton Farms Landfill in Huron Township, the Sauk Trail Hills Development Landfill in Canton Township and the Oakland Heights Landfill in Auburn Hills.

• Advanced Disposal, Ponte Vedra, Fla., operates the Arbor Hills landfill in Northville along with three transfer stations in Detroit, Roseville and Pontiac.

• Emterra Group, the Burlington, Ontario-based parent of Emterra Environmental USA, Flint, which in late 2012 bought a majority of the assets of Richfield Management LLC out of bankruptcy, including the Cove Landfill, now named the Huron Landfill in Bad Axe. Also acquired were a Port Huron transfer station and the trash/recycling contracts for about 50 mid-Michigan communities.

• Kurtz Bros. Inc., an Independence, Ohio-based supplier of landscape products, yard waste collection and operations of a material reclamation center in Brooklyn Heights, Ohio. The company has no municipal waste contracts in Michigan, and was bidding to dispose of yard and bulk waste within the city, said director of business development Jason Ziss.

• Resource Recovery Systems Inc., an Ann Arbor division of ReCommunity, a recycling materials processing and waste production company based in Charlotte, N.C.

• Unity Midwest Waste & Recycling, an affiliate of Unity Disposal & Recycling LLC, in Laurel, Md., which services more than 100,000 residents per week, according to its website.

• J. Fons Co., Detroit.

Orr has said the current city-owned waste collection system and its recycling services cost Detroit about $50 million per year to operate, and the privatized system could save about $15 million.

Chuck Rizzo Jr., president-CEO of Rizzo Environmental Services, thinks the private sector could operate the waste and recycling collection at a cost between $5.5 million and $7.5 million per district, or less than $30 million overall, for greater savings than Orr's office had projected.

"It's a good system to divide it into four districts, because if you had one operator for the whole city, the residents might expect more of the same, and there could be cost increases from the private hauler later," he said.

"But if you have four, and two or more companies operating those within the city, then residents in some neighborhoods who aren't happy can check the rates their neighbors are getting in the other district, and you have more potential for competition."

Tom Horton, government affairs manager for the Michigan, Indiana and Ohio region of Houston-based Waste Management, confirmed the company is a bidder but would not elaborate on details of its proposal to the city. He did say, however, that bidders on various districts in the city can look at landfill tipping and fees it would pay the incinerator in shaping their own bids.

"One cost that's related to waste hauling that the company can consider in shaping its bid is transportation," he said. "The Detroit waste incinerator is probably closest to all of the work that's being done, so that's a factor."

The Purchasing Division will review all the bids before forwarding findings to Orr, who will probably make a decision in the first or second week of October, Nowling said. Depending on the winning bidders' readiness and equipment needs, the private haulers could begin service as early as February.

Ruthenberg, of Midwestern Sanitation, agreed with Rizzo that privatization could save the city more than Orr's estimates called for this summer but did not get into the specifics of his own bid. He also said he only hauls a small portion of the solid waste his company collects to the Detroit incinerator.

"I think you're going to see some improvement, and the $15 million (Orr's savings) estimate is probably a bit conservative," he said.

Chad Halcom: (313) 446-6796, chalcom@crain.com. Twitter: @chadhalcom
Post Mon Dec 04, 2017 2:40 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Bucci a bungling crook, feds allege in court filing
Robert Snell, The Detroit News Published 11:10 a.m. ET Dec. 4, 2017 | Updated 12:35 p.m. ET Dec. 4, 2017


Detroit — FBI agents secretly videotaped Macomb Township Trustee Dino Bucci receiving a bribe and wiretapped the burner cellphone that was supposed to help him dodge law enforcement surveillance, according to court records that portray the indicted politician as an inept crook.

The video and wiretap are among evidence federal prosecutors have amassed during a three-year investigation, according to a discovery notice filed in the case against Bucci, the onetime right-hand man of former Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Anthony Marrocco.

Investigators also are armed with emails, bank and financial records, photographs, audio recordings of phone calls and hundreds of wiretapped phone calls, including some concerning extortion, bribery and kickback schemes, according to the filing.

Agents had at least four wiretaps, including one on Bucci’s phone and one on his disposable “burner” phone — a cheap prepaid phone typically used by drug dealers, and quickly replaced, to avoid being tracked by investigators. In Bucci’s case, agents learned about the phone and tapped it, according to the filing.

“The key to a burner is to get rid of it. Drug people buy a case of them and throw them away after a few days,” said Peter Henning, a Wayne State University law professor and former federal prosecutor. “White-collar defendants don’t understand what a burner really is.”

The burner phone will help prosecutors show Bucci’s intent and could pressure him to strike a plea deal, Henning said.

“You get a second phone when you have something to hide,” Henning said. “They are snowing the defendant under with materials to show just how strong their case is.”

The evidence emerged three weeks after Bucci, 58, was charged with bribery, extortion, fraud, theft and money laundering in an 18-count indictment that accuses the politician of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars while extorting engineering contractors who wanted public contracts, forcing county employees to drive his child to school and plow snow at his home.

Bucci’s lawyer, Stephen Rabaut, could not be reached for comment immediately Monday.

The wide-ranging corruption investigation is focused on at least three fronts: Macomb County politicians pocketing bribes in exchange for approving municipal contracts with Sterling Heights trash hauler Rizzo Environmental Services, Grosse Pointe Shores businessman Gasper Fiore’s towing empire and the Macomb County Public Works office.

The indictment came one month after Bucci was referenced in a plea deal involving township contractor Christopher Sorrentino. Sorrentino admitted delivering $66,000 in bribes to an unnamed politician at the public works office. The News previously reported that Bucci was the unnamed politician.


Prosecutors allege Bucci participated in a nine-year bribery conspiracy with other public officials and contractors.

The criminal allegations against Bucci involve several other figures who have been charged amid the year-long investigation. Those include Rizzo Environmental Services CEO Chuck Rizzo, former Macomb Township Trustee Clifford Freitas and engineering contractor Paulin Modi.

If convicted, Bucci could spend more than 20 years in federal prison.

Bucci directed contractors to give him tens of thousands of dollars in cash, checks and gift cards in exchange for public contracts, according to the government.

Contractors also gave him hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks and cash for political fundraising events, including golf outings and dinners in exchange for county and township contracts, according to the indictment.

During the conspiracy, Bucci also served as operations manager for the county’s public works office.

Prosecutors describe a “pay-to-play” culture that required contractors to give money to Bucci and buy tickets to political fundraisers for the township politician and political allies.

Bucci used his county and township positions to extort money from people by threatening to withhold development permits and home construction, prosecutors said. Bucci pocketed tens of thousands of dollars in cash and kickbacks during a five-year period, according to the indictment.

Bucci stole from the county by using employees and equipment on personal projects, prosecutors said. He forced employees to plow snow at his home and mom’s house “every time it snowed,” prosecutors said.

During heavy snowfalls, Bucci forced county employees to plow at his friends’ and relatives’ homes, according to the indictment.

County employees were forced to plow snow at Bucci’s home before plowing county facilities, prosecutors said.

The charges also come six months after Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller said a federal grand jury was investigating her office during Marrocco’s tenure and had subpoenaed testimony from about a dozen public employees.

FBI agents were asking questions about Marrocco, who lost to Miller in the November election; Bucci, his former deputy; and millions of dollars in payments to an unnamed county contractor, Miller said.

rsnell@detroitnews.com

(313) 222-2486
Post Tue Dec 05, 2017 8:55 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

More intangibles

Flint to get curbside recycling as part of outsourced waste collection contract

Print Email Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com By Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com
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on February 06, 2013 at 6:00 PM, updated February 07, 2013 at 9:32 AM
TRASH.JPG
MLive file photo FLINT, MI -- Flint residents are expected once again to get curbside recycling service as the city outsources its waste collection contract under a state-appointed emergency financial manager.
Flint Township-based Republic Services will start collecting Flint residents' trash starting March 4 under a nearly $4 million contract announced today, Feb. 6, by emergency financial manager Ed Kurtz.

Neighborhood trash pickup days will remain the same, officials said.

"We're expecting a pretty seamless transition," said Bob Borchers, a general manager with Republic Services.

An every-other-week curbside recycling program is expected to be rolled out in about 90 days, after Republic and the city work out a schedule and other details, officials said. Flint had curbside recycling in the past, but the service was abolished in 2001 because of budget cuts.

According to figures provided by the city, contracting for Flint's trash pickup is projected to cost the city more than $600,000 less in the contract's first year, compared to keeping the service in-house.

The city has 24 waste collection employees represented by the union AFSCME who will be affected by the change.

The city rejected AFSCME's proposals to cut down on costs and keep the service in-house after months of negotiations, said Lawrence Roehrig, secretary-treasurer of AFSCME Council 25 in Michigan.

"They don't want to manage people or community members or a workforce," he said. "They want to manage contracts because it's much less personal."

The unions ratified an agreement for the option to receive severance pay in exchange for a release not to sue the city over the privatization.
As part of the severance, they will be paid for their total accumulated sick days and vacation days, Kurtz said. They also will receive $500 for each year of service, up to a maximum of $10,000, he said.

"I feel really good about the way we treated the employees," Kurtz said. "It's always difficult to lay folks off...

"They did nothing wrong for this to happen, it was just a matter of cost."

The employees will also receive hiring preference with Republic, said company officials. A hiring fair for the laid-off city employees will be held and those who meet eligibility criteria -- a commercial driver's license, a required physical and drug and alcohol screenings -- would be hired to fill any openings.

As part of the deal, Republic will also purchase the city's garbage trucks for $75,000 each for a total of up to $1.5 million. The city has 20 trucks, but Kurtz said staff are still evaluating whether to keep one or more of them.

Roehrig questioned the decision to sell the trucks, saying that would make it difficult to return to in-house waste collection in the future if circumstances change.

The trucks were purchased in 2006 for about $3.1 million.

"All 20 of these trucks are getting old at the same time," Kurtz said. "(In the future) we would be faced with the difficulty of 'How do we replace 20 garbage trucks?'

"It's working out good for us (to have Republic purchase)."

The three-year contract with Republic has the option for a one-year renewal.

After that, the city could rebid the contract if it's unhappy with the price, Kurtz said.

The city collects a $143 trash fee for each residential unit. Kurtz said the fee will be evaluated and adjusted as necessary, depending on how much the service costs the city.

Republic is going to do an updated, official count of the number of residential units receiving the service, Kurtz said.

"We'll know that over the next couple of months," he said.

Total waste collection services are projected to cost about $5.7 million in the first year, including Republic's costs and other city costs, such as legal fees, retiree health care costs, administration and any maintenance of remaining equipment.


Other points of the Republic contract include:
Republic will pay the city a fee per truckload of compost disposed at the city's compost pile at the former Chevy in the Hole site.
Compost and yard waste pickup will continue April through November on a weekly basis.
Residents are asked to have all waste curbside by 7 a.m. on their regular pickup day.
Recycling bins will be provided by Republic once the recycling program is rolled out.
Republic will also offer tire collection four times per year and neighborhood cleanup service for a fee of $95 per hour for the driver and truck, plus $8 per yard of waste removed.
A customer service hotline for complaints, which will be logged and reported to the city.

Kristin Longley can be reached at 810-429-5333. You can also follow her on Twitter @KristinLongley or subscribe on Facebook.
Post Tue Dec 05, 2017 10:25 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Once a breach of trust occurs between the legislative and the administrative branches then it will seep into every part of the decision making process.



FLINT NEWS
Questions raised over Flint lead line replacement contracts
Updated Feb 23, 2017; Posted Feb 23, 2017
Flint excavation and mechanical companies work to remove lead pipes
A new copper pipe is pulled through the dirt, successfully replacing an old lead line, as part of Mayor Karen Weaver's Fast Start initiative to replace lead-tainted service lines, on Friday, March 25, 2016 on Joliet St. in Flint. Rachel Woolf | MLive.com

By Jiquanda Johnson
FLINT, MI -- Flint City Council members say the decision to reopen bids for the fourth phase of a program replacing Flint's lead-tainted pipes reminds them of the controversy surrounding the city's recent trash contract.

It has also left one contractor seeking the contract claiming the administration is giving competitors an opportunity to undercut their bid.

City officials opened up bidding for the fourth phase of Mayor Karen Weaver's FAST Start program in late January with a Feb. 2 submission deadline.

Since then, officials have reopened the bidding process for the infrastructure replacement program and pushed the submission deadline to March 1 instead.

"I want to find out what went wrong," said Flint City Councilwoman Monica Galloway during a Feb. 22 committee meeting. "The process doesn't seem fair. We had the trash contract. We see what that did. My question is, is this turning into another one of those?"

Flint garbage debate settled after company identified in federal investigation
Flint garbage debate settled after company identified in federal investigation

The end could be near for the city's garbage dispute.


There were two requests for proposals, one for the water line replacement and another for restoration after the work is completed.

City officials say bids came in too high again, an obstacle Weaver's administration ran into during the second phase of the process when they put out a RFP for the project.


Flint Purchasing Manager Derrick Jones said the bids were too high and didn't meet the financial guidelines required in the state's grant for the project.

Jones and the city's chief financial officer, David Sabuda, said the city has to comply with grant and state requirements.

"State law says we can only spend X amount of dollars per parcel," Sabuda said. "It's right in the law and we will be audited."

Jones added that a memo was sent from program coordinator Michael McDaniel advising the city to reopen the bid process.

Representatives from Goyette Mechanical attended the committee meeting to address the city's decision to reopen bids, saying that their initial bid has been revealed and gives competitors an opportunity to under bid their $4,200 per house submission.

Goyette was one of the companies chosen to work on the second and third phases of the Fast Start program.

Council members asked for information in writing as to why the city is rebidding, criteria for rebidding and a copy of the memo Jones said was sent by McDaniel.

"Here we go again," said Council President Kerry Nelson. "I thought one thing the Rizzo situation taught us is we just need to communicate. We just need to talk."

Both Nelson and Galloway are referring to a trash dispute where eight city council members fought against Weaver's recommendation to give a $17.4-million trash contract to Rizzo Environmental Services.

The issue was settled days after reports that Rizzo was at the center of a federal investigation for corruption and bribery.

"It does not look good, again the way this process was done," Nelson said. "Once the bids come back this time, let me put it on record if it's not (Goyette Mechanical) I won't support it."

Under the Fast Start program, there are plans to complete Flint's infrastructure replacement over the next three years by replacing lead-tainted pipes at an estimated 6,000 houses per year.

So far, officials say there are about 20,000 homes that still need service lines replaced.

Last year, an estimated 800 homes had lines replaced under Mayor Karen Weavers Fast Start program, which launched in March 2016.

From March to April 2016, service lines were replaced at 33 homes under the program's first phase. During phase two, which launched in July, contractors replaced service lines at 250 homes. The rest of the homes had service lines replaced under the program's third phase.

The fourth phase is expected to start in mid- to late-March.

The program's first phase was funded by a $500,000 contract between the state and Rowe Engineering. City officials used $2 million that the state repaid Flint for connecting to Detroit's water system in 2015 for the second phase.


For the third phase, officials tapped into $25 million approved by the Michigan Legislature June 2016 that was allocated for replacing Flint lead-tainted pipes.
Post Wed Dec 13, 2017 7:58 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

FLINT NEWS
More than $35 million approved to replace 6,000 Flint water lines
Updated Apr 9, 2017; Posted Mar 26, 2017

By Roberto Acosta racosta1@mlive.com
FLINT, MI -- Equipment may begin digging up earth as soon as next month in Flint to replace thousands of lead-tainted water lines to homes in the city.

But some disagreement remains over the process being used to select the companies to complete the work.

City Council members approved seven contracts March 23 totaling more than $35 million for replacement of up to 6,000 pipes and associated clean-up work after city officials pushed for a rebid over claims previous amount proposals came in at too high a cost.

Seven contractors were awarded the work, pending receipt of funds, including $100 million in grant dollars from the federal Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act of 2016, $20 million match from the state Department of Environmental Quality and Children Health Insurance grants.

EPA makes it official, sends $100 million to Michigan for Flint water crisis

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $100-million grant to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to fund drinking water infrastructure upgrades in Flint, funding that had been approved by Congress and former President Barack Obama late last year.


David Sabuda, the city's chief financial officer, said a portion of the funds is expected to be received in the next few days. Michael McDaniel, the coordinator of the Fast Start line replacement program, said contractors expect to replace at least four lines a day once the work begins.

Approximately 800 water lines have been replaced since the beginning of Mayor Karen Weaver's Fast Start Initiative in March 2016. The city has estimated around 20,000 lead and lead-tainted galvanized iron service lines leading from the water main to the water meter of homes still need to be replaced.


Councilwoman Kate Fields cast the lone no vote during the recent approval, with Councilwoman Jackie Poplar not in attendance, arguing the bid process was not being conducted properly.

"I am and a lot of people are concerned about these contracts," she said of the fourth phase of pipe replacement, adding Flint purchasing director Derrick Jones noted the bid did not meet state guidelines at the time.

Fields has submitted Freedom of Information Act requests to the state and city of Flint to see documents pertaining any rebid request by the MDEQ after Goyette Mechanical previously submitted a bid for all 10 zones that fit under the state's required $5,000 cap per household for each replacement.

"I would like a written rationale into legal, a written rationale for this pipe rebid," she said. "Unless I see something that's really legitimate, my opinion is that this bid has been corrupted once again."



Flint City Council members say the decision to reopen bids for the fourth phase of a program replacing Flint's lead-tainted pipes reminds them of the controversy surrounding the city's recent trash contract.


McDaniel argued Goyette's bid was non-conforming because the dollar figures were based on a per-home basis and not the length of pipe needed to perform the work.

"It would have been wholly unfair to the other bidders if we were to accept that," he said, while later pointing out the company had calculated the amount per foot based upon an average of 30 feet and using their own inspectors.

Representatives from Goyette did attend a Feb. 22 committee meeting to address the city's decision to reopen bids, saying that their initial bid has been revealed and gives competitors an opportunity to underbid their $4,200 per house submission.

Goyette was one of the companies chosen to work on the second and third phases of the Fast Start program.



The Flint city council has approved two contracts that will fund the third phase of water service line replacement in the city.


Previous bid proposals have gone out with every contractor coming in too high, with the exception of Goyette, McDaniel said.

"It's on me that maybe I tried something new that I shouldn't and it was too confusing," he said. "If so, I take that (responsibility) but we did do it fairly the second time around and everybody bid per address."

Prior to a vote on the contracts, Councilman Herbert Winfrey said "I don't see where there's this attempt to do some skullduggery. If you don't listen, you might miss something."

City officials have said it could still take up to three years to replace all of the service lines, with an average of 6,000 homes to be completed each year through 2019.


The city is looking to replace service lines at 6,000 homes this year continuing with the fourth phase of Mayor Karen Weaver's Fast Start initiative.


Here's a breakdown of the contracts totaling more than $35.6 million, including amounts not be exceeded, the awarded company and work to be performed:

-$10,980,000: WT Stevens Construction Inc. for up to 2,700 residential water line replacements in Zones 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9


-$9,148,500: Goyette Mechanical for up to 2,100 residential water line replacements in Zones 2, 3, 6, and 8

-$5,344,200: Zito Construction for pavement/right-of-way repair restoration services after water service line repair for Zones 2, 4, 8, and 10

-$4,486,500: AFSCME Local 1600/AFSCME Local 1799 for pavement/right-of-way repair restoration services after water service line repair for Zones 3, 5, 6, 7, and 9

-$2,335,950: Waldorf & Sons for up to 600 residential water line replacements in Zone 4

-$1,890,675: Lang Construction Inc. for up to 600 residential water line replacements in Zone 10

-$1,159,650: Yeager Asphalt for pavement/right-of-way repair restoration services after water service line repair for Zone 1
Post Wed Dec 13, 2017 8:30 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

M_LIVE
atticin Mar 26, 2017
I would like to know how WTStevens gets awarded 2700 homes and has a deadline of October to complete the work, when they couldn't even complete 150 homes in the last phase on time. They Never met their deadline and somehow never were charged the penalty for being late? (essentially the City is Stealing from taxpayers cause its really their money should of received back under contract terms) I do know if this is the case in this award, there will be lawsuits against the city for unfair advantage. All bidders should be liable for the late completion penalty / damages and no one including WT Stevens should have unfair advantage over other contractors / bidders. When awarding jobs you also have to look at the capabilites of the contractors and past track record. I see more corruption here on this one.


umrunr Mar 26, 2017
I'd like to know how WT Stevens is getting a bond for over $11 million in work, more than their annual sales volume.

MLive, if you don't FOIA a copy of it, I sure will.

NO WAY they can get a bond for that much work. C'mon MLive, do your job and start investigating this fraud!!
Post Wed Dec 13, 2017 8:36 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

more m-live



Burns_Park Mar 27, 2017
And you can submit your tips about any suspicious local leaders to the FBI's Detroit field office: https://tips.fbi.gov/


Burns_Park Mar 27, 2017
I recommend Flint constituents detail and submit your valid complaints to the AG of Michigan. It's his job to investigate this stuff, not an overworked beat reporter at MLive: https://secure.ag.state.mi.us/complaints/consumer.aspx



Burns_Park Mar 27, 2017
@Zinger The same old crooks will haul in MILLIONS. This is the biggest grift Flint has seen in a long time.


roundabout Mar 27, 2017
This is what happens when you have the blind leading the blind. These people are making either close to or over six figures in salary and can't even handle a bid correctly. And these are the people we are entrusting the spending of 35M of our tax dollars? Isn't Jones the same person who mishandled the bidding of the garbage collection contract? This clown makes close to $80,000.00/yr. and just finally got a graduate degree from college. This is what happens when Woody hires one of his cronies. Let the corruption continue! Kate Fields and her compadres on council need to do a BIG TIME investigation into Flint's hiring and promotion practices!!!


People13 Mar 27, 2017
@roundabout Incompetency breads incompetency. Just look at Flint's leadership and you get a pretty clear picture of how this happens. Their hiring is based on race and cronyism and not actual skills and qualifications. It has been that way for years and the chickens are coming home to roost! The FED's are suppose to be back in town investigating unethical non-competitive spending of blight grant money.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/michigan/2017/03/26/flint-demolition/99661262/



Why does this happen? Because of a lack of fair bidding being practiced in government spending in Flint that's why. Millions are being spent without record of competitive bidding of grant money spending. Flint has had this problem before but hires unqualified people to fix it.


fireatwill Mar 27, 2017
Ok they got $100 million so where is the other 65 million going??

Burns_Park Mar 26, 2017
Surprise surprise black crony contractors won the rebids. I don't feel sorry for Flint because they've been voting in the same gang of crooks for 30 years.


burtonguy Mar 26, 2017
@Burns_Park

So you noticed that the minority firm came in at $4,000 after it was revealed Goyette bid and stayed at their $4,200 bid? I wonder how long it will take the feds to find if there is a link to Gilcreast's construction company.


Bestside Mar 26, 2017
Love this whole mess. Not a single word from anyone on Trump authorizing $100 million to fix it. Nothing. Hopefully, voters repay him in 2020. CRAZY that Obama did nothing, but again that's what dems want.

As for corruption, I hope they pay upon completion. Complete a line that passes inspection, get a check. Glad they're using copper. All the other crap is too unreliable in Michigan IMO.




mower255 Mar 26, 2017
The city of Lansing had 12,150 water lines replaced for a cost of $44 million. That works out to about $3700 per line. Flint is replacing 6,000 lines for $35 million, or about $5,800 per line. Time to check the math here.




Is the rumor true about the name associated with WT Stevens?

Something smells really bad about this, which should surprise nobody.

umrunr Mar 26, 2017
Jeff Grayer??? YES


atticin Mar 26, 2017
I would like to know how WTStevens gets awarded 2700 homes and has a deadline of October to complete the work, when they couldn't even complete 150 homes in the last phase on time. They Never met their deadline and somehow never were charged the penalty for being late? (essentially the City is Stealing from taxpayers cause its really their money should of received back under contract terms) I do know if this is the case in this award, there will be lawsuits against the city for unfair advantage. All bidders should be liable for the late completion penalty / damages and no one including WT Stevens should have unfair advantage over other contractors / bidders. When awarding jobs you also have to look at the capibilites of the contractors and past track record. I see more corruption here on this one.


umrunr Mar 26, 2017
Hasn't finished the last 800 he was awarded and hasn't had to pay the liquidated damages of $1,300/day either!

_
misanthrope_ Mar 26, 2017
@Burns_Park So when black contractors get a government job in a city with a black mayor, it is racist? Would it also be racist if the contractors were white and the mayor was white?


diggerdude Mar 26, 2017
$20K per week, per crew, is ridiculous, unless the contractor is covering the $2400 permit fee. And I doubt that they are. Permit fees for a waterlines in most areas are $120 dollars, Flint is ripping off the taxpayers. 6000 waterlines at $2400 is $14,400,000 in permits fees. This is disgusting.


boocarou Mar 26, 2017
@diggerdude REPEAT:::::: Watch Weaver and watch the money. Is Stanley involved??????


ic23b Mar 26, 2017
Does the $5,000 cap per household for each replacement include the $2400 per house that Flint is charging for the permit? Not fair to Goyette to reopen bids after their bid has been revealed.


DukesUncle Mar 26, 2017
@ic23b I agree. $2400 for a PERMIT? Flint's leaders are turning this crisis into an opportunity to rip off the state.

We are the state - we the taxpayers are the ones paying for this - with higher taxes.

I'm all for helping Flint people. But I'm not for helping the Flint City Leaders get rich at MY expense.



Zinger Mar 26, 2017
@DukesUncle @ic23b

Flint is full of users, we have already helped them too much.


umrunr Mar 26, 2017
No, the permit fee was not part of the bid. The bid specs are on City of Flint website if you want to verify ( no need to, I alredy did).
Post Wed Dec 13, 2017 8:53 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Businessman gets 21 months in Macomb corruption scandal
Robert Snell, The Detroit News Published 3:24 p.m. ET Dec. 13, 2017 | Updated 3:35 p.m. ET Dec. 13, 2017


Derrick Hicks, a Bloomfield Hills businessman accused of plotting to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from Rizzo Environmental Services, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison Wednesday for his role in the Macomb County public corruption scandal.

The sentence is the longest issued so far in the wide-reaching corruption scandal that has led to charges against 18 people and 12 convictions.

The corruption investigation is focused on at least three fronts: Macomb County politicians pocketing bribes in exchange for approving municipal contracts with Sterling Heights trash hauler Rizzo Environmental Services, Grosse Pointe Shores businessman Gasper Fiore’s towing empire and the Macomb County Public Works office.

The sentence by U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland in federal court in Port Huron comes five months after Hicks, 48, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Hicks also was sentenced to two years’ supervised release and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine. The 21-month sentence was three months longer than that imposed on former New Haven Trustee Christopher Craigmiles.

Hicks, meanwhile, was owner and CEO of Southfield-based ASAP Services Inc., which provided garbage carts to tens of thousands of homes serviced by Rizzo’s trash company.

Hicks admitted committing wire fraud by embezzling money from Rizzo Environmental Services between 2013 and October 2016.

“Although Hicks was not a leader of the scheme, Hicks and his company, ASAP Services, were key and necessary components of the fraud,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo. “His crime was serious, and his involvement in it was extensive.”

At trash hauling CEO Chuck Rizzo’s direction, Hicks inflated invoices to Rizzo Environmental Services that exaggerated the number of garbage carts delivered by ASAP Services, according to court records. The embezzlement totaled more than $500,000.

Hicks kept some of the cash and split the rest every week with Chuck Rizzo and former Rizzo employee Quintin Ramanauskas, according to the plea deal.

In October 2015, Hicks delivered $50,000 cash to Chuck Rizzo, according to the plea deal. The next month, he gave $3,000 to Ramanauskas.




The government alleges Rizzo, his father Charles Rizzo, Detroit towing mogul Gasper Fiore, Hicks and others plotted to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from Rizzo Environmental Services using a fake legal settlement agreement, fraudulent consulting deals, kickbacks, shell companies and stealing money to help pay for Chuck Rizzo’s mansion in Bloomfield Township.

Some of the stolen money bankrolled bribes for public officials to maintain and secure additional municipal garbage contracts, prosecutors say.


Chuck Rizzo called the embezzled cash OPM, short for “other people’s money,” according to prosecutors.

Hicks’ lawyer, Kimberly Stout, requested a sentence of 18 months or less. Hicks is a hard-working entrepreneur who overcame a difficult childhood before getting involved with Rizzo, his lawyer wrote in a court filing.

“(Hicks) knew it was wrong but also naively believed that this was how ‘big business’ was done,” Stout wrote.

rsnell@detroitnews.com
Post Thu Dec 14, 2017 4:46 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Flint RTAB Special meeting Packet 10-26-16 - State of Michigan
https://www.michigan.gov/.../treasury/Flint_RTAB_Packet_-_10-26-16_539103_7.pd...
Oct 26, 2016 - 4. The Administration of the City of Flint shall develop a detailed request for bid and bid evaluation procedure for solid waste collection services. The parties agree that the Mayor, at her discretion, may solicit bids for a solid waste collection contract. The starting date for any contract awarded through this bid ...
[PDF]Flint RTAB Minutes 7-22-16 - State of Michigan
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/.../Flint_RTAB_Minutes_07-22-16_530870_7....
Jul 22, 2016 - or not calculated in the bid that was done during the evaluation process. And when you look at the evaluation process that was done by the purchasing director, the transportation director at the time and the person that was overseeing waste, they rated Republic in their evaluation at a higher level than they ...
[PDF]Flint RTAB Minutes 9-10-16 - State of Michigan
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/.../Flint_RTAB_Minutes_8-10-16_532742_7.p...
Aug 10, 2016 - CITY OF FLINT. RECEIVERSHIP TRANSITION ADVISORY BOARD MEETING. AUGUST 10, 2016. 2:00 p.m.. Meeting before the. RTAB Board at Flint City Hall ..... broad RFP? MR. DERRICK JONES: It was one broad RFP in which it stated specifically that the -- that the contractor that will do multiple awards, ...
Post Sat Dec 16, 2017 1:17 pm 
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