What the Feds Demand Letter to McKee Admin on Washington Bridge Failure Tells Us
GoLocalProv News Team
What the Feds Demand Letter to McKee Admin on Washington Bridge Failure Tells Us
Here is a breakdown of some key aspects of the 8-page demand letter.
READ THE FULL LETTER FROM THE DOJ HERE.
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1) Rhode Island Led — Not Washington
The letter was derived from the Rhode Island District of the U.S. Department of Justice — the office headed by Zachary Cunha.
The demand letter by the DOJ to the McKee Administration was filed under the False Claims Act.
One recent False Claims Act in Rhode Island was the DOJ's investigation into the actions by Barletta Heavy Division, the lead contractor on the state of Rhode Island 6/10 project. That action was sparked by a whistleblower, and led to a non-prosecution agreement between the federal government and Barletta, and a payment by the company of $1.5 million.
Presently, Barletta is the lead contractor on the Washington Bridge.
“The False Claims Act [FCA] provides that any person who knowingly submits, or causes to submit, false claims to the government is liable for three times the government’s damages plus a penalty that is linked to inflation. FCA liability can arise in other situations, such as when someone knowingly uses a false record material to a false claim or improperly avoids an obligation to pay the government. Conspiring to commit any of these acts also is a violation of the FCA,” according to the Department of Justice.
“In addition to allowing the United States to pursue perpetrators of fraud on its own, the FCA allows private citizens to file suits on behalf of the government (called 'qui tam' suits) against those who have defrauded the government. Private citizens who successfully bring qui tam actions may receive a portion of the government’s recovery,” states the DOJ.
In the case of the 6/10 contamination, James White, President of Local 57 of the International Union of Operating Engineers, filed the qui tam suit.
3) Lead Prosecutor
According to the demand letter, the lead prosecutor investigating is Bethany Wong, the Civil Division Chief in the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Wong was the lead prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney on the 6/10 contamination case.
The project manager for Barletta on the 6/10 project was Dennis Ferreira, who pled guilty to multiple federal charges. He presently faces state charges.
Wont was named Chief of the Civil Division in January 2022, and had been appointed an Assistant United States Attorney in the office’s Civil Division in August 2014. In addition to representing the United States in a wide range of civil affirmative and defensive matters, Wong has also served as the office’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement coordinator since October 2018.
Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Wong served as a staff attorney at the Women Against Abuse Legal Center in Philadelphia, where she represented victims of domestic violence seeking legal protection in Family and Superior Court. She was also an associate at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, where she advocated on behalf of clients in civil, criminal, and appellate matters in federal and state courts in Pennsylvania. She graduated summa cum laude from Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania in 2005, and earned her Juris Doctor at the University of Virginia School of Law in 2008.
The demand letter seeks information going back to January of 2015. That timeline aligns with the appointment of then-newly elected Gina Raimondo of Peter Alviti as Director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation.
Raimondo was sworn in as Governor on January 1, 2015. Today, she serves as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Joe Biden.
Alviti came to the Department of Transportation from his position as Director of Programs for the New England Laborers' Health and Safety Fund.
Today, Alviti is the longest-serving director in state service.
5) Many Contractors Will Fall Under Investigation
This investigation, reaching back, will include the work of numerous companies who have worked on the Washington Bride over a nearly 10-year period.
As the communication is a demand letter and not a subpoena, it is not as likely that a federal grand jury has been impaneled.
7) Deadline for Delivery of Materials
The demand letter states that the McKee administration has until February 26 at 9:30 AM to deliver all of the responsive documents.
8) The focus of the Inquiry is on Piers 6 and 7
Specifically, the demand letter states:
1. All documents, including all reports, records, notes, correspondence, photographs and videos, related to, or depicting, any beam tie downs or tension rods at the beam seats on piers 6 and 7 of the Washington Bridge. This includes email and text message communications.
2. All contractor invoices and progress payments, including all supporting documents, for work performed on the beam seats on piers 6 and 7 of the Washington Bridge.
3. All documents, reports, or other records describing or showing any work performed on the beam seats on piers 6 and 7 of the Washington Bridge. This includes all daily diaries and/or daily work reports.