Turner Construction, Bloomberg Execs Indicted In $15M Bid-Rigging Scheme

919 Third Ave. in Midtown Manhattan
Google Maps
919 Third Ave. In Midtown Manhattan

More than a dozen construction executives and workers at Turner Construction Co., Bloomberg L.P. and various subcontractors have been charged for a bid-rigging and bribery scheme that prosecutors say was worth millions.

In all, 14 people and three companies were charged with counts of grand larceny, conspiracy, money laundering and bribery in unsealed indictments announced by the Manhattan District Attorney Tuesday. More than a dozen other people and companies have already pleaded guilty and cooperated with the investigation.

The allegations stem from interior build-out work at two Bloomberg offices in Manhattan, at 919 Third Ave. and 120 Park Ave. Besides under-the-table cash payments in exchange for insider information, one subcontractor illegally registered as a woman-owned business to position itself for work, even as it was being used to funnel contracts for kickbacks, prosecutors allege.

Former Bloomberg construction executives Anthony Guzzone and Michael Campana, along with former Turner executives Ronald Olson and Vito Nigro, were charged with stealing from Bloomberg by inflating contractor bids, falsifying work orders and misappropriating funds. The scheme ended up costing Bloomberg $15M, prosecutors said.

“New York’s sky-high construction costs are driven not only by market demand, but by pay-to-play industry corruption that makes it impossible for honest companies to compete,” District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement. "Thanks to the unique expertise of prosecutors in my Office’s Rackets Bureau, as well as our partners in the New York State Police, this massive, years-long kickback scheme has come to an end."

The DA's office thanked Turner and Bloomberg for their help cooperating in the investigation, which did not implicate the two companies or their highest-ranking executives in the scheme.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's New York Newsletters
Related Stories

Bally's Lines Up $560M Loan For Bronx Casino: The N.Y. Deal Sheet

Data Center Spills 5,000 Gallons Of Fuel Into New Jersey River

Historic Brooklyn Hotel To Be Turned Into Ritz-Carlton-Branded Condos

Taconic Partners Sheds Another NYC Life Sciences Property

Philly Has The Fundamentals. Now It Has To Reduce The Risk Of Building

Design Plans Revealed For RFK Stadium Parking Garages, Headed To Review

Oxford Properties' U.S. Investment Head On Why It's Buying Office Again — And Where

SpaceX Sues Texas AG, Grimes County Over Terafab Project Information

25 Years After 9/11, Lower Manhattan Is Finally Firing On All Cylinders

Tishman Speyer Seeks $92M Tax Break For Next Hudson Yards Office Tower

SL Green Selling SoHo Building For $226M

Retail Dynasty Pushes Button On Pair Of London Coliving Schemes