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  1. #1
    Administrator Jean's Avatar
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    WA - Officer goes undercover to nab suspected deadbeat contractor

    12 hours ago
    by Brett Cihon
    q13fox.com

    SEATTLE — A police officer trained for weeks to go undercover and catch a deadbeat contractor who allegedly failed to pay his employees a living wage and hired illegal employees who he reported to immigration authorities if they complained about their missing pay, Seattle police said.

    Dathan Lavell Williams is charged in King County Superior Court with first-degree theft, failure to pay employees and offering false filing records.

    According to court documents, workers union representatives came to Seattle police and said some area contractors — including Williams — were undercutting legitimate business by failing to pay the prevailing wage and forcing their employees to work overtime for little pay, even on government funded job sites.

    Union reps also alleged some employers threatened their employees; at times with weapons.

    Seattle police trained an undercover officer to infiltrate Williams’ J. Structures & Interior Solutions, LLC, reportedly one of the area’s worst offenders. JRW Structures specializes in installation of drywall and metal framing.

    With the help of a local union, an undercover police officer trained in drywalling and the construction industry for several months. The officer then applied for a job at JRW Structures, police said, and in April 2011 was hired on by Williams after the police officer met with him at an area Taco Bell.

    It wasn’t long before Williams allegedly began “bragging” about his shoddy employment record, police said. At the Taco Bell meeting, Williams allegedly told the undercover officer he hired undocumented workers. He even explained how one time two illegal immigrants demanded more money, and Williams responded by calling Immigration Customs Enforcement. The two immigrants were deported.

    “That’s what you get when you try to f*** with me,” Williams allegedly told the informant.

    Soon, the undercover officer was working at a job site. According to the undercover officer, Williams knowingly committed a variety of violations, including:

    Bragging about falsifying unemployment claims
    Intentionally paying employers below government required wages
    Using an illegal business license
    Failing to pay taxes
    Knowingly underbidding jobs by not paying the prevailing wage to his employees, allegedly saying “you could pay them (illegal immigrants) $2 an hour if you wanted.”
    Making workers sign an illegal document acknowledging they wouldn’t be paid the prevailing wage

    According to court documents, Williams secured many government contracts with low bids, including work on a U.S. Post Office, a town civic center and multiple area schools.

    Williams has not yet been arrested.

    http://q13fox.com/2013/10/16/police-...#axzz2hwdic4j9
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  2. #2
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    Seattle contractor facing labor charges, false reporting

    by BRANDON MACZ, Bellevue Reporter Staff Writer
    posted Oct 22, 2013 at 12:45 PM

    Seattle contractor Dathan Williams is alleged in King County Superior Court to have underbid government and private construction projects by hiring undocumented workers, falsely reporting the wages he was paying and turning over those in his employ who complained about their compensation to immigration officials.

    In a lengthy investigation by the Seattle Police Department, Williams is accused of raking in more than $18,000 for a drywalling contract at the United States Postal Service's Bellevue Carrier Annex, but undercutting workers by more than $30 per hour for the project.

    The investigation into the 32-year-old JRW Structures owner was initiated by the King County Prosecutor's Office in October 2010 after receiving a complaint from a local union.

    A Seattle police officer went undercover to investigate Williams's company after two local drywall unions identified JRW Structures as an offending subcontractor believed to be exploiting workers, according to court documents. The undercover officer also received construction training before being introduced to Williams by a cooperating witness who has done work with the subcontractor.

    Court documents state Williams told the undercover officer he was fond of hiring undocumented workers for cheap labor and had contacted Immigration Customs Enforcement in the past when they demanded more money.

    Williams employed the undercover officer for various construction jobs between June and November 2011. In that time, he is alleged to have encouraged falsifying unemployment claims, hiring undocumented workers, paying wages below federal contract and union standards and prevailing wage rates requirements. The court alleges he got away with paying such wages by making workers sign documents stating they are on contracts.

    It is by these practices that prosecutors allege JRW Structures was able to submit bids lower than other competitors for contracts.

    Rather than paying workers $35.40 per hour for the Bellevue Carrier Annex project as is prevailing wage for the federal contract, court documents state Williams paid his drywall installers 23 cents per square foot and lied about it in his reports to the Postal Service.

    Williams is charged with two counts of first-degree theft, two counts of false reporting or failure to secure payment of compensation and one count of offering false instrument for filing or record. His arraignment will be Thursday.

    http://www.bellevuereporter.com/news/228818621.html
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