Firm's ex-managers agree to plead guilty in Big Dig scandal
They would admit to overbilling state
Two defendants in a Big Dig billing scandal preliminarily agreed yesterday to plead guilty to highway project fraud in scheming the state out of more than $300,000 for work done on the Interstate 93 tunnel.
Kenneth Hartley of California was added as a defendant in the case yesterday. He and Ryan McCourt of Quincy, former managers of Big Dig contractor McCourt Construction, signed plea agreements where they would admit to overbilling the state by falsely categorizing apprentice construction workers as journeymen, meaning they would be entitled to additional pay. Prosecutors say the workers were paid as apprentices and the construction firm pocketed the remainder.
Prosecutors had alleged that the defendants deliberately overbilled the state between 2002 and 2005. As a result, McCourt Construction was paid $314,494 more than it should have received, the complaint said.
McCourt Construction previously pleaded guilty as a company in connection with the scandal in April and agreed to pay $500,000 in fines. The company was the main contractor on the I-93 tunnel finishes contract and was paid more than $245 million for its work on the Big Dig.
Hartley and McCourt face up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and fines of up to $250,000. But under the terms of the agreements, US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan's office would agree to recommend a lower sentence.
"This isolated incident, which was solely related to billing practices and had no impact on safety or quality of work performed, is not consistent with McCourt Construction's overall commitment to integrity and a longstanding history of impeccable business practices," Diana Pisciotta, spokeswoman for McCourt Construction, said in a previous report. Pisciotta said the company has fully cooperated with federal and state investigators.
The company had defended itself, saying its subcontractors submitted incorrect invoices for laborers. Three workers from
The plea is not final. The defendants will be in court July 10, where a judge will hear the plea agreement and accept or reject it. Afterward, a sentencing hearing will be scheduled.
The case was the result of an investigation by a litany of federal organizations, including the FBI, Department of Transportation, Department of Labor, and the US attorney's Public Corruption Unit.
John Guilfoil can be reached at jguilfoil@globe.com.
