In
a 77 page report released late last month, Broward County Inspector General
John W. Scott charges three local construction companies conspired to cheat
county government by using small business set asides improperly. Based on this
report, County Administrator Bertha Henry has ordered the county attorney to
pursue all available remedies to rectify the fraud.
According
to Inspector General Scott’s report, Giannetti Contracting, of Sterling
Heights, Michigan, was awarded a contract to supervise construction of a $6.5
million sewer and water construction project in Dania Beach. Giannetti falsely
claimed that certified small business Chin Diesel of Pembroke Pines worked on
the project. Giannetti issued its check to Chin Diesel for $369,530.00.
Although Chin Diesel was listed a subcontractor to Stanford & Sons
Trucking, Stanford Trucking’s owner Stanford Amritt, Jr. attempted to pressure
Leon C. Chin-You of Chin Diesel into depositing the check and taking money off
the top when writing a check back to Amritt for most of the amount. Chin
refused to cooperate in the scheme, and falsely claim his company worked on the
job.
Giannetti
replaced Chin with Spearhead Development Group of Miramar, owned by Amritt’s
brother Donovan. Spearhead wrote a check to Stanford Trucking for everything
Spearhead received from Giannetti on the project.
The
net result is that no small business ever actually worked on the job, and
Stanford profited from the fraudulent representations that the set aside was
met. “The incidence of contractor misconduct, misrepresentation, falsehoods and
scheming necessitates immediate attention by the county,” according to County
Administrator Henry.
