Small RI Contractor Who Blew Whistle on Developer Says He’s Being Targeted

Small RI Contractor Who Blew Whistle on Developer Says He’s Being Targeted

A Rhode Island-based contractor, who called out an out-of-state developer who refused to pay his vendors, says he is being punished for whistleblowing.

The developer is poised to receive millions in taxpayer funds from Rhode Island Commerce Corporation.

Nearly a year after completing work on the Edge on College Hill — and six months after telling GoLocalProv.com he had not been paid — Rhode Island-based subcontractor Jose Marcano said he has still not been paid by Vision Properties —nearly $274,000 in total. 

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As GoLocal reported in the February 2019 article, “Developer Receiving Millions in Incentives From State Fails to Pay Bills, Says Subcontractor,” Marcano said that Vision owned him more than a quarter-million dollars

On Friday, GoLocal reported that the former leasing Vice President for Vision’s College Hill towers — which are receiving millions in Rhode Island incentives — said that the project is “not viable.”

“He owes me money. We did the job, and we deserved to get paid,” said Marcano, of Vision President Rick Shaffer. “He gets paid by leasing the property. So why aren’t we getting paid?”

Marcano said that of the $274,000 he said he is owed, he needs to pay over $100,000 in union “fringes” — which he can’t do, he said, until he gets paid. 

“I think it's because I spoke to the press. Not paying me, it's a lot of money for a small business,” said Marcano. “There's a lot of opportunities right now in Rhode Island -- and this is hurting us."

Lawyer on Record

“We have filed a motion to consolidate,” said Marcano’s lawyer Greg Mancini, of what he said are two cases that affect Jose — Marcano’s claim and also the claim by the union that Marcano is affiliated with. “On August 22, there will be a motion to consolidate, and I don’t think [Vision] will oppose.”

“I don’t want to speak for the defendants, but I think this is procedural,” said Mancini. 

Mancini said that he had offered a settlement to Vision — and that they, in turn, simply did not respond. 

“He’s a small business. It’s my understanding that most if not all other liens have been released — we made an offer for settlement. It was not 100% on the dollar — I don’t want to get into specifics — I’ve never been in the situation before where the defendant simply doesn’t respond,” said Mancini. 

“As far as I know — he’s the one who spoke to the media, he's the one who advocated [for his situation] with Commerce — and he’s the one who has still not gotten paid,” said Mancini. 

 

Developer Defends His Actions

A lawyer for the Pennsylvania-based developer said that the project, "The Edge College Hill represents a significant investment of not less than $66,000,000 in the City and Rhode Island to build a state of the art, privately built and operated student housing complex in the heart of the City."

"In doing so, Vision created substantial construction jobs and wages paid to hard-working Rhode Islanders, the overwhelming majority of which were union jobs, and created a welcome addition to Providence's skyline within an aggressive ten-month construction schedule. Since the Edge College Hill opened on September 1, 2018, it has created a vibrant student community in downtown Providence, nearby several of Rhode Island’s major colleges and universities. Just as importantly to both the City and the State, the project has attracted more students, and the businesses that serve them, to the City and the State," said James Atchison of the Providence-based law firm Darrow Everett.

But Atchinson's comments run counter to the former Vice President of Marketing and Leasing of Vision. Joel Burton who served as as the top marketer for the Edge College Hill owned by Vision Properties, told GoLocalProv last week that he believed “greed” made the owners up their original plans for 154 units at the recently completed tower in Providence to 202 — and that the second tower, which is slated to come online after the state approved a total of an additional $10 million of subsidies this past spring — will not work in the current apartment-flush environment. 

Atchinson says, "Jomar [Marcano's company] was a subcontractor for Vision on the project, and executed a Subcontractor Agreement with Vision to provide taping and paintwork on the project. The total 'firm' price submitted by Jomar for all work under the Subcontract was $604,826.00. Vision has already paid Jomar $610,667.42 under the Subcontract."

"Although it is undisputed that the Subcontract price has been paid in full, Jomar now claims it is owed $264,775.33 for the “extra work” it alleges it provided at the project. Despite repeated requests over the last six months, Jomar has not produced any executed and approved contract Change Orders for the Project, as expressly required by the Subcontract. To that point, Vision disputes that it owes Jomar for any extra work. Notably, the Allied Trades Union, which represents Jomar's employees, has also sued Jomar for Union benefit payments Jomar failed to pay to the Union," said Atchinson

Vision has deposited $273,496.00 with the Rhode Island Superior Court in case Vision is ordered to pay Jomar for any of the disputed extra work, said Atchinson.

Atchinson defends his company's failure to pay its contractors, "Further, the significant negative 'closed for business' message it would send if we disallow developers investing in Rhode Island the freedom of contract and access to the Courts to address any disputes under mutually agreed contracts should not be ignored. Certainly, Rhode Island and the City have moved on from the days when such conduct was tolerated, let alone encouraged."