Thread: GA: Cobb County Courthouse hiring illegals

Originally Posted by lccat

Zebra Construction, Inc.:

Mission Statement

To simply do what is right;
At a profit if we can,
At a loss if we must;
But to always do what is right.

http://zebrabuild.com/cms/Mission+Statement/13.html

Looks like you better change your mission statement while your at it! It's as fake as a three dollar bill!

Claim of illegal workers now under state jurisdiction
by Katy Ruth Camp
krcamp@mdjonline.com
February 11, 2010 01:00 AM

Work continued Wednesday on the new Cobb Superior Courthouse, which is expected to be completed by March 2011 at a cost of $63 million. The watchdog group Jobs for Georgians has made allegations that illegal immigrants are being used by a subcontractor in the construction process.
Photo by Thinh D. Nguyen


MARIETTA - Cobb Chairman Sam Olens and Commissioner Tim Lee say the general contractor overseeing the construction of the county's new Superior Courthouse has taken appropriate action regarding recent allegations that illegal immigrants were employed to work on the project - and any further action is out of their hands. Meanwhile, a state lawmaker is using the local situation as an example for why his bill regarding the hiring of illegal immigrants should be passed.

Members of the watchdog group Jobs for Georgians went before the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday and presented claims that Zebra Construction, the masonry subcontractor on the courthouse project, hired illegal immigrants.

Jose Alvarez said he spent three months visiting the construction site and posing as a bricklayer looking for work. Alvarez said he created relationships with Zebra's workers and has an audio tape that he said proves those workers were being paid in cash, were not checked under the federal program E-verify and were not paying income taxes or social security insurance.

Chip Kessler, president of Suwanee-based Zebra, said the contractor hired by his company to manage the blocklayers was pulled from the project because he told them he was not enrolled in E-verify. Kessler confirmed that this means the contractor was not checking his construction workers through E-verify.

Alvarez estimates that 14 workers employed by the subcontractor were illegal immigrants.

John Ciancia, the leader of the Jobs for Georgians' undercover operation, said he called Virgil Moon, the county's director of support services, and e-mailed Olens before noon Wednesday. By 8 p.m., Ciancia said he still had not heard back from either of them, even though he said they told him they would like to meet and see his evidence.

But Olens said he told Ciancia that he felt the meeting should take place with county attorney Dorothy Bishop, as she can offer more direction.

"A meeting with the county attorney is not what we're looking for," Ciancia said. "The commissioners are the ultimate voice over this project, so they are the ones we feel should know this information."

Olens said he feels Turner Construction, the project's general contractor, has properly handled the situation with Zebra and that the removal of the contractor not registered with E-verify is a significant solution.

"We have a provision in our contract where Turner has to address and solve any complaints within 10 days, which they did, and I don't think the county has that tool to fire the subcontractor altogether," Olens said. "Any further action that can be taken against the contractor or subcontractor is under the state of Georgia's jurisdiction. I would like to see these violations become criminal issues, or to levy a large fine to those breaking the law that will give us the opportunity to tell people that they cannot do this or they will pay the consequences."

Olens said Cobb was the first to fully comply with Senate Bill 529, which provides procedures and requirements applicable to certain contracts or subcontracts, and the county has taken measures no other county has taken to show that illegal employment would not tolerated.

"I certainly thank the bricklayers for finding this out because this is something we need to know," Olens added.

Lee also said he feels Turner has successfully reassured the county that the project is following the law, but that there may need to be some changes in the county's policy.

"I think we need to sit down and figure out ways to make sure this doesn't happen again, to ask ourselves, 'What more can we do? What steps can we take?'" he said. "If it is true, it's certainly not something we take lightly, but we'll learn from it and do what we can to make sure it doesn't happen again. It's a concern any time any county money is being spent and is not being used properly, and we're not going to tolerate any level of unfair or illegal benefiting."

Zebra is also the masonry subcontractor for Southern Polytechnic State University's $33 million Engineering and Technology Center, which is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in August. SPSU President Dr. Lisa Rossbacher said she was not aware of any action taken to look into Zebra's practices, but the subcontractor will be reviewed, if it has not already.

"As far as I know, they have been following the laws that everyone else has to abide by," Rossbacher said. "And at some level, we have to trust the process because we are simply not set up to implement our own independent cross-checking of each worker. But if it turns out that the same processes implemented elsewhere are defective, then we will certainly look at what action needs to take place from there."

Ciancia said whatever the outcome of his group's findings is, he ultimately hopes subcontractors will be given a level playing field as they bid for projects and that unemployed, legal taxpayers will be given the jobs they need and deserve.

"Other subcontractors who are playing by the rules are suffering because they can't compete with the low bids generated by those saving money through hiring illegal workers. These general contractors can pick and choose who they want on their project, because the economy is so bad and everyone wants work. So by picking someone they know will probably find a way to be cheaper, even if it is illegal, they are taking that risk and, to me, saying they don't really care," Ciancia said. "Taxpayers are paying for that building to be built. Illegal activity shouldn't happen anywhere, but certainly not at the cost of citizens for a government building. And Cobb County taxpayers are the ones missing out on all those taxes that will probably never be traced. There's a lot of disappointment in this whole thing, but to me, that's the saddest part."

Illegal immigration activist D.A. King said he believes the hiring of illegal workers was no accident.

"Somewhere along the line, there was someone involved in the process who just didn't care if Cobb residents' money was being used improperly. And I think there should be a full investigation into where every bit of taxpayer money went," King said.

The local situation hit the Capitol Wednesday, where Rep. Rick Austin (R-Demorest) presented House Bill 1164 before the Georgia House. Austin's bill proposes severe consequences for public entities that knowingly employ illegal workers. In Austin's bill, a local government who knowingly employs someone who is in the country illegally will lose its qualifying local government funds for a year. This includes all state funding and matching. If a state agency knowingly employs illegal workers, it will lose 10 percent of the state-funded budget the next year.

A spokesperson for Austin said the lawmaker is presenting his bill today, and has printed out copies of the Marietta Daily Journal's Wednesday article to use as an example for why his bill should be passed.

Rumors circulated that other subcontractors were absent from the courthouse project site Wednesday due to their own employment of illegal workers, but Turner spokeswoman Sharon Eckhert said the employees were sent home as a safety precaution due to high winds.

http://www.mdjonline.com/view/full_stor ... risdiction

If a subcontractor got busted hiring illegals twice, the general contractor that hired the sub and the sub needs their license suspended for a year, and if it happened again, suspend it permanently. The state has the authority to require this on state jobs, and local govs have the same authority to require compliance on local jobs.
Hit the thieves where it hurts, and the playing field will become level.

Checking ID's at the front gate is just a ploy to keep out any other investigators, but the fact that it was required by the general shows complicity if any illegals were found on the jobsite, so pull his license if any illegals were found.

I've worked construction for over 40 years, and can remember how things were before LBJ opened our borders, and Regan made it worse, stay ever vigilant for your childrens sake.

This does not surprise me one bit. Every construction site in Cobb has more foreign looking workers than not. Especially road construction.
There are 2 road construction jobs under way right now with a big sign that reads "Funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act".
The contractor on one of them has been in business in Cobb for many many years. I have a suspicion that many of those men are illegal. Although there would be no way for me to prove any allegations.
I just don't understand how a company that has been in business for that long can resort to such practices. I could be wrong about them, but it gives them a black mark as far as I'm concerned.

Added to Homepage:
http://www.alipac.us/article-4924--0-0.html

Teilhet wants grand juries to look at use of illegal immigrants — and Olens says he’s good with that

6:06 pm February 22, 2010, by Jim Galloway

Cobb County is home to two candidates for attorney general: state Rep. Rob Teilhet (D-Smyrna) and Sam Olens, the Republican chairman of the Cobb County Commission.

So it should come as no surprise that Teilhet has sent letters to Cobb District Attorney Pat Head and newly appointed U.S. Attorney Sally Yates, requesting (presumably separate) grand jury investigations into whether illegal immigrants have helped build the new Cobb courthouse.

Read the one to Head here. It says in part:
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B_ ... Mjkx&hl=en

I respectfully request that your office consider empanelling a grand jury to investigate the relationship between the general contractor, subcontractor and sub subcontractor and what the respective parties knew or should have known about the illegal conduct at issue. It is important to also determine whether similar conduct has occurred on other projects involving these same parties.

Allegations that illegal immigrants were used on the $63 million courthouse project surfaced earlier this month.

Olens says he’s fine with either grand jury investigation, or both. They can join at least one already in progress, by the state Department of Labor. Olens said he has also asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to look into the situation.

The Cobb commission chairman accused a certain opponent of “political opportunism,â€

March 6, 2010

D.A. King’s OFFICIAL COMPLAINT to Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren on the danger to American workers and the rule of law involved in the Cobb County Courthouse Criminal Construction Caper

Posted by D.A. King at 10:13 am

A copy of the below compliant was delivered to CobbSheriff Neil Warren March 3, 2010.

To: Sheriff Neil Warren 3 March 2010
Cobb County
Marietta, Georgia

From: Citizen D.A. King
2984 Lowe Trail
Marietta, Ga. 30066
President, the Dustin Inman Society

OFFICIAL COMPLAINT Possible violation of OCGA 13-10-90

Sheriff Warren, I reluctantly ask that your office investigate possible violations of state law (OCGA13-10-90) in your jurisdiction regarding the verification of newly hired employees, contracts for public works and security and immigration compliance.

Also, I ask that any violations of rules and regulations put forth by the Georgia Department of Labor (DOL) be investigated. (Chapter 300-10-1)

I have no doubt that we all seek total transparency on how contractors on public works are, or are not, in enthusiastic compliance with the law to which the rest of us are held.

I am aware that there are limited penalties for violation of this particular law, but nevertheless, and very respectfully, I insist that the rule of law be served and that the citizens of Cobb County and Georgia have a clear understanding and official report of the situation surrounding the recent news reports on the employees used in construction of the new Cobb Courthouse.

According to recent news reports, Turner Construction Co. ignored Georgia law and the DOL regulations by creating its own forms to replace the model affidavit supplied by the DOL for use by its subcontractors. If accurate, this action would also be a violation of the code cited here. These forms were reportedly not dated, contained no oath and were not notarized as mandated by Georgia law.

Under the law, the contractor, regardless of its size or budget is required to obtain affidavits from its subcontractors. Here I must note that according to the law, the term “Subcontractorâ€