A $100 million supplier that sells Chicago everything from bodybags and hay to tear-gas grenades on Wednesday got the purchasingequivalent of the death penalty: a three-year ban on doing businesswith the city.
Chicago United Industries and company owners George Loera and NickMassarella were disqualified -- and now face up to $17,800 in finesand damages -- for allegedly doctoring paperwork to cover up ashortage of 222 signs that were supposed to be delivered to the city.
"Based on our investigation, it is clear that they were upset thatthey weren't going to get paid for the signs that weren't delivered,and they decided to create a paper trail to try to show that signswere delivered that weren't," said Law Department spokeswomanJennifer Hoyle.
"It's not a clerical error," she said. "It's a deliberatesubmission of a false statement in order to get money from the citythat they were not due. They were supposed to supply a certainnumber. They were 222 short. And they were told that we would onlypay them for the signs they actually supplied us -- not the amountthat we ordered.
Allegation denied
"Subsequently, they came up with an invoice that purported to showthe delivery of those 222 signs on a different date. Those signs, infact, were never delivered. We never received them. There was nodelivery on that date."
Loera released a statement saying his company has had "thousands"of city contracts over the last 20 years and never once "submittedfalse statements" to City Hall.
"Conservatively, CUI has successfully delivered to the city'sDepartment of Transportation over 100,000 sign blanks. Never once hasthere ever been any question to the validity of the associatedpaperwork," Loera said.
"This is the same city department that is disputing 222 signblanks out of 100,000 delivered by CUI, but has been unable to find840 40,000-pound truckloads of asphalt from the last constructionseason."
Last spring, the city moved to strip Chicago United of theminority business certification that gives the company a leg up ongovernment contracts, on grounds Chicago United was little more thana pass-through that performed no useful function.
The three-year debarment does not address the minoritycertification issue.
Wednesday's broadside against Chicago United Industries was one of14 cases filed against individuals and businesses accused of makingfalse statements to the city.
Ten of the defendants allegedly submitted false information onapplications for building permits about who would be serving asgeneral contractor or speciality subcontractor.
Another case was filed against Michael Conniff, who was accused ofcalling 911 and making a false claim that multiple shots had beenfired inside a home. Based on that information, a hostage barricadeteam and other police resources were dispatched to the scene, at acost of $17,000. Conniff faces fines
and penalties of $52,000.
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