6/10 Contamination: Barletta to Pay $1.5M in Federal Penalty, Top Supervisor to Plea to 3 Counts
GoLocalProv News Team
6/10 Contamination: Barletta to Pay $1.5M in Federal Penalty, Top Supervisor to Plea to 3 Counts
According to the non-prosecution agreement, Barletta Heavy Division will pay total penalties of $1,500,000.
And one of Barletta’s top men — Dennis Ferreira — has agreed to plea to three counts. Count I is that Ferreira made false statements to the government on the quality of work done; Count II is that Ferreira made false statements that work was completed and Count III is about the character and quality of the work performed.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST$500,000 of the penalty is part of a non-prosecution agreement.
And the company will pay $1,000,000 as part of a civil penalty. All of the provisions of that aspect of the civil agreement will be made public in the near future, the U.S. Attorney's office said.
No officers of the corporation were charged.
When asked about the impact on the abutting neighbors, Cunha told GoLocal, "I feel for any member of the public that suffers regardless of the cause — what I say to them is, we looked at this thoroughly over a two-year period, we looked at it from every angle of available enforcement under federal, civil, and criminal law."
He added, "And what we ultimately concluded is that the facts supported the resolution that we’ve reached with respect to the construction and procurement investigation, and with respect to that investigation, we did the best that the facts would allow us to hold the company accountable and make sure that the taxpayers were made more than whole."
The Details:
Barletta agrees to pay a Criminal Monetary Penalty in the total amount of $500,000 to the United States Treasury no later than ten business days after the Agreement is fully executed. Barletta acknowledges that no tax deduction may be sought in connection with the payment of any part of this amount. The Government is not requiring Barletta to pay a Victim Compensation Payment as Barletta has agreed to a global resolution of its criminal and civil liability, entering into a separate civil settlement with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Rhode Island which will make FHWA and RIDOT whole.
Ferreira, the former project superintendent, will plead guilty in federal court to charges of making false statements; under a separate agreement, Barletta will pay a criminal fine of $500,000, return $1,000,000 to the government, make factual admissions, and undertake a series of monitoring, reporting, and compliance measures.
“When federal tax dollars fund work in our communities, we expect that the government will get what it bargains for,” said Cunha. “In this case, that didn’t happen. Today’s resolution should serve as a reminder to any company or corporate official that, when the government is footing the bill, false statements have consequences.”
He will face sentencing by a federal court judge and could face jail time.
As part of the resolution, as detailed in documents filed in federal court, Ferreira will plead guilty to an Information that charges him with three counts of making a false statement in connection with a federally funded highway project.
These charges stem from Ferreira’s decision to import railroad ballast (loose stone) from a Barletta project site in Massachusetts, and soil from the Pawtucket/Central Falls Rail Station and Bus Hub Project, a separate Barletta job site in Rhode Island, to the 6/10 Project to be used as fill.
The Agreement
According to the non-prosecution agreement, Barletta as a corporation has agreed to a far-reaching provision.
One key element of the agreement for the government is a provision that states:
Upon request of the Government, Barletta shall truthfully and in a timely manner disclose all factual information not protected by a valid claim of attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine with respect to its activities, those of its subsidiaries and affiliates, and those of its present and former directors, officers, employees, agents, and consultants, including any evidence or allegations and internal or external investigations, about which Barletta has any knowledge or about which the Government may inquire. This obligation of truthful disclosure includes, but is not limited to, the obligation of Barletta to promptly provide to the Government, upon request, any document, record or other tangible evidence about which the Government may inquire of Barletta.
The crime was perpetrated in one of the poorest sections of Rhode Island -- and the response to the criminal allegations was manipulated and covered up by top officials in the administration of Gina Raimondo. She now serves as the United States Secretary of Commerce in the Biden Administration.
Repeatedly, Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti denied any contamination on the site -- but the contamination took place under his agency's direct supervision.
State Charges Are Pending
Just two days after the first GoLocal report, Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti took to the radio to deny that the site was contaminated.
The federal announcement is just a portion of the charges potentially pending against the 6/10 contractor, Massachusetts-based Barletta Heavy Engineering.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha is also poised to level significant and numerous state charges against Barletta for an array of environmental crimes.
Neronha's office offered the following statement on Wednesday, "Our investigation of potential violations of state environmental laws involving the Route 6/10 construction site continues. That investigation is separate and independent of the federal matter disclosed today. We anticipate providing an update regarding this Office’s investigation in the very near future."
The announcement was spurred by a near non-stop investigation by GoLocal that exposed the contamination and unveiled cover-ups by state officials.
GoLocal has published more than 40 stories on the dumping and attempted whitewashing by state officials.
This story is developing.
10/19/22 11:31 AM