The joint venture company, Gilbane Building Co.-Hunt Construction Group Inc., has agreed to pay a $1.9 million fine to settle allegations by Massachusetts prosecutors that it misrepresented participation of woman- and minority-owned subcontractors on a city-funded minor league ballpark project.
According to a press release, the attorney general’s office announced the settlement of its suit against Providence, RI-based Gilbane and Indianapolis-based Hunt, the two companies who submitted its bid to serve as construction manager of publicly-owned stadium Polar Park in Worcester in 2019. The park is home to Boston Red Sox’s Worcester affiliate team, WooSox.
In the bid, the company pledged to give 20% of the work to women- and minority-owned businesses, the attorney general’s office said in a statement Thursday.
However, the attorney general’s office said, Gilbane-Hunt “did little” to encourage these firms to enlist in the multi-million dollar project, did not track participation, and failed to provide monthly updates to the Worcester Redevelopment Authority. These actions violated the state’s False Claims Act and consumer protection laws.
An investigation by the attorney general’s office, which was sparked by a GBH News investigation in April 2021, uncovered that Gilbane-Hunt reported “projected values” of 17-18% woman- and minority-owned business participation, when in fact the real-time status revealed that only 11-12% of the work was allocated.
“Construction companies in...
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