Big Dig contractor strikes deal on tax evasion charge
Work on highway jobs barred by guilty plea
Pamela Ciampi, owner of a construction firm that worked on the Big Dig, will be prohibited from future work on highway projects after she agreed to plead guilty to tax evasion charges
In documents filed in US District Court in Boston yesterday, Ciampi, owner of PT Corp. of Lynnfield, acknowledged evading federal income taxes in 2002 and 2003 totaling $250,390.
She also acknowledged filing a false tax document in 2005 with the agency that administers the disadvantaged businesses program for the US Department of Transportation.
Ciampa "will plead guilty to the tax evasion and [making a] false statement. . . . She accepts full responsibility for her lapse in judgment," said E. Peter Parker, her lawyer.
Parker said that as part of the plea agreement with federal authorities Ciampa agreed to no longer bid for contracts on highway jobs, virtually all of which are at least partially federally funded.
Ciampa -- whose family operates Testa Corp., one of the country's largest demolition firms -- and her company came under intense scrutiny in 2004 because of PT Corp.'s status as a certified woman-owned business.
In April 2004, federal agents searched the offices of PT Corp. and Testa Corp. as part of a nationwide probe into large construction firms setting up sham firms with women or minority executives, in order to obtain lucrative public works contracts, according to Globe stories published at the time.
But Parker said there was no fraud. "This case is not about Big Dig contractor fraud," he said yesterday. "There are no allegations that PT Corp. obtained so much as a single dime as the result of fraud or that PT Corp. was an illegitimate or sham minority business."
From 2001 to 2003, PT Corp. was in charge of dismantling the 1 1/2-mile elevated Central Artery as a subcontractor to Modern
PT Corp. was supposed to be paid $45 million to dismantle the elevated highway. The firm was forced to give up its role, however, after it fell badly behind schedule, according to Globe accounts published in 2004.
The demolition work was then taken over by Testa Corp., the accounts said.
Attempts by federal and state officials to revoke PT Corp.'s certification as a woman-owned business failed, Parker said.
"PT Corp. obtained reversal of a state board decertification decision and prevailed in a federal administrative decertification proceeding," he said.
According to court documents, Ciampa reported income of $94,960 in 2002, when her income was $258,868, and reported income of $111,392 in 2003, when her income was $674,559.
Ciampi dipped into PT Corp.'s funds for personal use, the court documents say. "Ciampi took sums of money in addition to her salary from PT Corp. for her personal use," the documents say.
In a statement released yesterday, the office of US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan said the case, announced days before the deadline for filling federal income tax returns, served as a reminder to the public "of their duty as citizens to pay their taxes."
"The prosecution of individuals who intentionally conceal income and evade taxes is a vital element in maintaining public confidence in our tax system," the statement said.
Ciampi faces up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines on each count, Sullivan's office said.
No date has been set for her to formally enter a plea or for sentencing.
