BOSTON — Three New England firms have agreed to pay $1.37 million to resolve allegations that they submitted fake claims for payment for work on an airport runway used by the Massachusetts Air National Guard that was never completed.
The firms involved in the settlement are Eurovia Atlantic Coast LLC doing business as Northeast Paving, a Maine-based paving and construction company; the Lane Construction Corporation, a Connecticut construction company; and Stantec Consulting Services Inc., a New York engineering firm, the U.S. Attorney said Friday.
The settlement agreement stems from the rehabilitation of Runway 2-20 at Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport in Westfield.
The airport is the operational center of the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 104th Fighter Wing, which includes the 131st Fighter Squadron – an operational combat wing that provides fighter pilots for alert missions over the northeastern United States.
In 2012, the City of Westfield began the process of rehabilitating Runway 2-20, using a mix of federal, state and local funds, including funds from the Department of Transportation and the Department of Defense, Foley said.
To receive the federal funds, the city had to periodically submit claims to the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Department of Defense, including during and after construction.
In 2013, the city and Stantec entered into an agreement for Stantec to provide certain design services, project management, bidding support and related engineering services for the project, which included developing specifications and drawings.
The city subsequently selected and entered into an agreement with Lane Construction to complete the rehabilitation. After completion of the rehabilitation, Northeast Paving purchased some Lane Construction’s assets.
In 2019, the runway began cracking in the area where the concrete center of the runway and the surrounding asphalt interfaced.
The project specifications and plans included providing a track at the interface between the concrete inlay and surrounding asphalt.
Although Lane and Stantec certified that the rehabilitation project met the requirements of the plans and specifications, the track was never constructed, Foley said.
Due to the cracking in the area where the track should have been constructed, the City of Westfield and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation undertook a repair project to address the cracking.
The 104th Fighter Wing was forced to relocate during the repair project.
“Federal contractors must fulfill their obligations and perform the work they promise to provide, especially where their work impacts the safety of our military,” Foley said in a statement. “We will continue to hold contractors to their commitments to ensure that federal agencies and taxpayers get what they paid for.”
As part of the settlement agreement, Northeast Paving, Lane Construction and Stantec each admitted to and accepted responsibility for facts underlying the covered conduct, Foley said.
“The defendants cut corners and misrepresented their work wasting taxpayer dollars,” Brian Gallagher, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region, said in a statement.
“This settlement reflects our commitment and ongoing collaboration with law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to hold contractors accountable for failing to meet contract performance and quality standards,” Gallagher said.
“Ensuring the safety of the warfighter is a critical part of the DCIS mission,” said Christopher Silvestro, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service Northeast Field Office, the law enforcement arm of the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General.
“This settlement demonstrates our collaboration with the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners to ensure DoD contractors adhere to the requirements outlined in each contract,” Silvestro said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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