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....March 9, 5:58 PM |
| Under Investigation: Queens Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin Target Of FBI Streetlight Bid-Rigging Probe
By ANDREW MOESEL Just after dawn last Thursday, a team of FBI agents raided the offices of the New York City Central Labor Council, pulling out dozens of boxes brimming with files and paperwork. Employees were told to leave and the sidewalks outside the building became crowded with reporters, cameramen and photographers.
Federal agents initially were tight lipped about the purpose behind the raid, but information slowly leaked out that it was related to an investigation involving CLC president and Queens Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin. His Flushing offices, a small storefront along Depot Road, had also been targeted in the early morning search. Over the past week, it has been widely reported that federal and city investigators had been collaborating on a probe into an alleged bid rigging scheme in which McLaughlin may have played a central role. Details are still murky, and the popular labor leader has denied any wrongdoing. Still, the buzz of union corruption has a familiar ring in this City, and suspicions have been enough to force McLaughlin, a usually well liked and public figure, to adopt a low profile. Telling from the stacks of papers that the FBI carted away, it could be months before an official case materializes or the truth is revealed. A Loose Rigging Authorities are saying that McLaughlin may have been involved in a plot to manipulate the bidding process for city electrical contracts, delivering lucrative projects to a select group of favored companies. No formal charges have been filed. McLaughlin not only served as CLC president, but also held a leadership post in Local 3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, a branch that primarily dealt with city street lighting. That dual role could have given McLaughlin the influence to predetermine the bids from different companies competing for the same project, essentially guaranteeing a particular company would offer the lowest price and win the contract, sources said. It remains unclear exactly how the bid rigging scheme functioned or what role McLaughlin played in the arrangement. But as a high-ranking labor representative, McLaughlin may have been able to negotiate labor costs and lower a company’s overall expenses, sources said. The State Department of Labor sets a prevailing wage for all electricians in New York, paying $41 an hour, plus benefits. Some contractors have been known to pay less in order to make jobs affordable, however. In a turn of irony, McLaughlin praised City Comptroller Bill Thompson for acquiring a $1.5 million settlement for a group of underpaid electrical workers just days before he would be implicated in a similar situation. “The labor movement applauds Comptroller Thompson for his vigorous enforcement of our city’s prevailing wage laws and his courage to continually stand up for working people against seedy business interests,” McLaughlin said in a statement last week. One City official said this investigation could lead to a Comptroller’s audit. To date the Comptroller’s office has not audited any DOT electrical contracts. Authorities suspect that McLaughlin may have been given an American Express card – with favored contractors footing the bill – in return for his participation in the bid rigging, sources said. The office raids were an attempt to gather evidence of a paper trail linking McLaughlin to such payments or other corruption. Union leaders aren’t buying it. Some believe the investigation could just be a fishing expedition aimed against organized labor. “This [federal] Administration is anti-labor, and if they can embarrass an important labor leader then they will, and that’s what they are trying to do here,” said Arthur Cheliotes, president of Communication Workers of America Local 1180. “It’s like wearing a target on your back.” Shadowy Lighting Companies Two Queens Companies – Petrocelli Electrical Company of Long Island City and Welsbach Electric of College Point, whose offices were raided on Thursday – appear to be at the heart of the investigation. The companies service and maintain a large part of the city’s vast network of street and traffic lighting. Petrocelli and Welsbach currently hold a combined $160 million in city contracts, records show, far more than any other companies. Wilbur Chapman, a former commissioner of the City Department of Transportation, told the New York Post that he had been suspicious about the number of contracts that went to only two companies. He expressed relief upon learning of the probe. “Thank God – finally,” Chapman told the Post. “I’m happy that someone from the outside is looking at the process.” Other news outlets have reported that Petrocelli’s name at times had floated in several federal investigations into organized crime, though the company has never been officially implicated in any crime. Lawyers representing Petrocelli said not only have no charges been filed against their clients, but federal investigators also have assured them that the company is not even a criminal target in the McLaughlin investigation. They are cooperating with investigators, lawyers said. Welsbach officials did not return calls for comment. Both companies have been generous contributors to McLaughlin’s political campaigns. Since 1999, State Board of Election records show that Petrocelli gave $4,500 to the Friends of Brian McLaughlin Committee, and Welsbach gave more than $18,000. Petrocelli also donated $9,500 to Thompson’s 2005 campaign to be reelected as Comptroller, according to Campaign Finance Board filings. |
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