Federal grand jury investigates PBS&J for illegal campaign contributions
Florida Firm Being Probed Over Contributions Gave Money To Commissioners
Sep 13, 2006
by Bob Dunn
FortBendNow
Copyright 2006
A major Florida engineering consultant, under government scrutiny for alleged illegal campaign contribution practices across the country, has contributed to campaigns of several Fort Bend County officials through its Texas political action committee.
A federal grand jury is investigating whether PBS&J of Miami illegally reimbursed its employees for campaign contributions, according to a Miami Herald report.
In connection with a separate investigation, PBS&J also was recently banned from seeking new contracts with the Texas Department of Transportation, until it paid a multimillion-dollar settlement stemming from overcharges in state projects.
It’s illegal for a company or other entity to use individuals as faux political donors in order to exceed individual campaign contribution limits, and the Miami Herald reported that such contributions, if determined to be illegal, might have to be returned by candidates.
Newspaper reporters for the Herald found campaign finance records showing PBS&J employees and political action committees contributed more than $500,000 since 2003, to federal and state political candidates across the country.
A check of campaign contribution records on file with the Texas Ethics Commission shows PBS&J made political contributions to every member of Fort Bend County Commissioners Court over the past four years. The contributions came from PBS&U PAC, the company’s Texas political action committee.
The PBS&J payments include $6,500 in contributions over the past three years to County Judge Bob Hebert; $4,000 since 2003 to Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers; $3,000 since 2002 to Precinct 2 Commissioner Grady Prestage; $1,300 since 2004 to Precinct 1 Commissioner Tom Stavinoha; and $250 to Precinct 4 Commissioner James Patterson.
Stavinoha, Prestage and Meyers all said Wednesday they were somewhat familiar with the Florida company, but didn’t have extensive dealings with the firm. Hebert and Patterson could not be reached for comment.
In its most recent local activity, PBS&J PAC made political contributions of $800, $2,000 and $2,500, respectively, to Stavinoha, Meyers and Hebert, all on March 6, 2006.
A week before the contributions were made, Hebert, Meyers and Stavinoha joined Prestage and Patterson in unanimously voting to extend an engineering services contract for PBS&J.
According to information from the Fort Bend County Engineer’s office, the contract involves preliminary engineering and right-of-way acquisition services for a Texas Department of Transportation project to widen F.M. 359 near Richmond.
However, no information obtained in preparing this report suggests the timing of the contribution is more than coincidence.
Meyers said procedures are in place that limit the ability of commissioners court members in influencing what firms receive contracts for professional services such as engineering and architecture.
In Fort Bend County the county engineer’s office requests qualifications and project proposals from interested firms, then makes a recommendation that is up to the commissioners court to approve or deny, before county money can be spent. Meyers said if two firms are recommended for a particular job and the commissioners have to vote on which one, he tends to vote for the one that’s done the least business with the county in the past.
Meyers said engineering firms wanting to do business with the county all have been told the same thing by commissioners – “at some point…it will be your turn.”
In PBS&J’s case, according to information provided by the Fort Bend County Attorney’s office, it has made more than $420,000 between 2003 and the end of August 2006 from Fort Bend County. The government contractor also has at least one contract worth $48,000 with the Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority.
Meyers said the Miami company has done engineering work on the Westpark Toll Road and was a subcontractor for lead engineering firm Brown & Gay. Prestage said the firm also has done environmental-related work on the Fort Bend Toll Road project. Stavinoha said PBS&J has done some work related to a Bernard River project and on the Grand Parkway.
Prestage said to his knowledge PBS&J is well-qualified and well-regarded. He said its not a major contributor to his campaign, and he was unaware of the investigation into its campaign contribution practices until contacted by this reporter.
“I’ve got several of their business cards around here,” Stavinoha said. “There’s a Glenn Graham from there I remember meeting with.”
He said he recalled receiving the $800 contribution during an $800-per-table fundraiser he held, adding “that’s the only time I normally accept a contribution.”
Glenn D. Graham is one of 19 names that appear as contributors to PBS&J PAC, on Texas Ethics Commission reports from 2003 to 2006. Each of the individuals reported numerous contributions ranging from $25 to $75.
PBS&J officials in Florida couldn’t be reached for comment, but the company issued a prepared statement saying it encourages employees to support political candidates of their choice, adding ‘’Good people who commit their time and energy to public service and effective policymaking should receive appropriate financial support.’’
PBS&J had more than a half-billion dollars in revenue in 2005 and has about 3,900 employees in 75 offices including four offices in the Houston area.
Meyers said he was unaware of the campaign contribution probe, but knew that a PBS&J official had been under investigation for embezzlement.
According to the Miami Herald, PBS&J’s chief financial officer and two other former employees have been under investigation by the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office for the past year, in the embezzlement of about $36 million.
PBS&J said in July the money was embezzled in a complicated scheme that resulted in several state transportation agencies being overcharged for engineering work.
Among those was the Texas Department of Transportation.
According to an 8-K report PBS&J filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 6, “Due to the potential misappropriation of assets, the company’s overhead rate for the Texas Department of Transportation was incorrectly stated.”
PBS&J notified TxDOT, and TxDOT then suspended the Florida company on May 25 from contracting for new services. (In 2005 alone, PBS&J made about $43 million from TxDOT projects – or about 8% of its total revenue.)
According to an Aug. 23 SEC filing, PBS&J and TxDOT entered into a settlement agreement on July 24, through which the state highway department released all its claims against PBS&J, and the company made a one-time payment of $5.3 million. As a result, the company is again allowed to compete for new state contracts.
“In the course of the company’s investigation of the accounting irregularities and misappropriation, it was determined that there were possible irregularities relating to past political contributions by certain employees and the company,” PBS&J said in the August SEC filing.
© 2006 FortBendNow Inc.: www.fortbendnow.com
Sep 13, 2006
by Bob Dunn
FortBendNow
Copyright 2006
A major Florida engineering consultant, under government scrutiny for alleged illegal campaign contribution practices across the country, has contributed to campaigns of several Fort Bend County officials through its Texas political action committee.
A federal grand jury is investigating whether PBS&J of Miami illegally reimbursed its employees for campaign contributions, according to a Miami Herald report.
In connection with a separate investigation, PBS&J also was recently banned from seeking new contracts with the Texas Department of Transportation, until it paid a multimillion-dollar settlement stemming from overcharges in state projects.
It’s illegal for a company or other entity to use individuals as faux political donors in order to exceed individual campaign contribution limits, and the Miami Herald reported that such contributions, if determined to be illegal, might have to be returned by candidates.
Newspaper reporters for the Herald found campaign finance records showing PBS&J employees and political action committees contributed more than $500,000 since 2003, to federal and state political candidates across the country.
A check of campaign contribution records on file with the Texas Ethics Commission shows PBS&J made political contributions to every member of Fort Bend County Commissioners Court over the past four years. The contributions came from PBS&U PAC, the company’s Texas political action committee.
The PBS&J payments include $6,500 in contributions over the past three years to County Judge Bob Hebert; $4,000 since 2003 to Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers; $3,000 since 2002 to Precinct 2 Commissioner Grady Prestage; $1,300 since 2004 to Precinct 1 Commissioner Tom Stavinoha; and $250 to Precinct 4 Commissioner James Patterson.
Stavinoha, Prestage and Meyers all said Wednesday they were somewhat familiar with the Florida company, but didn’t have extensive dealings with the firm. Hebert and Patterson could not be reached for comment.
In its most recent local activity, PBS&J PAC made political contributions of $800, $2,000 and $2,500, respectively, to Stavinoha, Meyers and Hebert, all on March 6, 2006.
A week before the contributions were made, Hebert, Meyers and Stavinoha joined Prestage and Patterson in unanimously voting to extend an engineering services contract for PBS&J.
According to information from the Fort Bend County Engineer’s office, the contract involves preliminary engineering and right-of-way acquisition services for a Texas Department of Transportation project to widen F.M. 359 near Richmond.
However, no information obtained in preparing this report suggests the timing of the contribution is more than coincidence.
Meyers said procedures are in place that limit the ability of commissioners court members in influencing what firms receive contracts for professional services such as engineering and architecture.
In Fort Bend County the county engineer’s office requests qualifications and project proposals from interested firms, then makes a recommendation that is up to the commissioners court to approve or deny, before county money can be spent. Meyers said if two firms are recommended for a particular job and the commissioners have to vote on which one, he tends to vote for the one that’s done the least business with the county in the past.
Meyers said engineering firms wanting to do business with the county all have been told the same thing by commissioners – “at some point…it will be your turn.”
In PBS&J’s case, according to information provided by the Fort Bend County Attorney’s office, it has made more than $420,000 between 2003 and the end of August 2006 from Fort Bend County. The government contractor also has at least one contract worth $48,000 with the Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority.
Meyers said the Miami company has done engineering work on the Westpark Toll Road and was a subcontractor for lead engineering firm Brown & Gay. Prestage said the firm also has done environmental-related work on the Fort Bend Toll Road project. Stavinoha said PBS&J has done some work related to a Bernard River project and on the Grand Parkway.
Prestage said to his knowledge PBS&J is well-qualified and well-regarded. He said its not a major contributor to his campaign, and he was unaware of the investigation into its campaign contribution practices until contacted by this reporter.
“I’ve got several of their business cards around here,” Stavinoha said. “There’s a Glenn Graham from there I remember meeting with.”
He said he recalled receiving the $800 contribution during an $800-per-table fundraiser he held, adding “that’s the only time I normally accept a contribution.”
Glenn D. Graham is one of 19 names that appear as contributors to PBS&J PAC, on Texas Ethics Commission reports from 2003 to 2006. Each of the individuals reported numerous contributions ranging from $25 to $75.
PBS&J officials in Florida couldn’t be reached for comment, but the company issued a prepared statement saying it encourages employees to support political candidates of their choice, adding ‘’Good people who commit their time and energy to public service and effective policymaking should receive appropriate financial support.’’
PBS&J had more than a half-billion dollars in revenue in 2005 and has about 3,900 employees in 75 offices including four offices in the Houston area.
Meyers said he was unaware of the campaign contribution probe, but knew that a PBS&J official had been under investigation for embezzlement.
According to the Miami Herald, PBS&J’s chief financial officer and two other former employees have been under investigation by the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office for the past year, in the embezzlement of about $36 million.
PBS&J said in July the money was embezzled in a complicated scheme that resulted in several state transportation agencies being overcharged for engineering work.
Among those was the Texas Department of Transportation.
According to an 8-K report PBS&J filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 6, “Due to the potential misappropriation of assets, the company’s overhead rate for the Texas Department of Transportation was incorrectly stated.”
PBS&J notified TxDOT, and TxDOT then suspended the Florida company on May 25 from contracting for new services. (In 2005 alone, PBS&J made about $43 million from TxDOT projects – or about 8% of its total revenue.)
According to an Aug. 23 SEC filing, PBS&J and TxDOT entered into a settlement agreement on July 24, through which the state highway department released all its claims against PBS&J, and the company made a one-time payment of $5.3 million. As a result, the company is again allowed to compete for new state contracts.
“In the course of the company’s investigation of the accounting irregularities and misappropriation, it was determined that there were possible irregularities relating to past political contributions by certain employees and the company,” PBS&J said in the August SEC filing.
© 2006 FortBendNow Inc.:
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Wednesday, September 13, 2006
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