NH-Federal funds, illegal workers
Sun., May. 24
Federal funds, illegal workers
By PAT GROSSMITH
7 hours, 20 minutes ago
An alleged drug dealer charged in the largest cocaine case in the state's history was a drywall subcontractor on two Manchester construction projects that received federal funding.
And most of the employees Juan Garcia Hernandez supplied to those work sites -- Stella Arms on Karatzas Avenue and the Family Willows on South Beech Street -- were illegal immigrants from Mexico, according to carpenters union organizers.
Hernandez was a subcontractor on many commercial construction jobs across the state, as well as in Maine and Massachussetts. He paid his workers from $11 to $18 an hour, if he bothered to pay them at all, according to union representatives and wage-claim forms filed by former workers.
The owner of the company that built Stella Arms, a 66-unit apartment complex, expressed shock when informed that an accused cocaine trafficker was a subcontractor on his project.
"Are you kidding me?" said Richard Anagnost, owner of Anagnost Companies. "I didn't even know he subcontracted (on the Stella Arms project)."
According to Liz Skidmore -- an organizer with carpenters union Local 118, of Raymond and Manchester -- Granite State Drywall of Manchester subcontracted the drywall work on Stella Arms to Drywall Impressions, also of Manchester. Granite State Drywall, Skidmore said, is owned by Bruno Grenier; Drywall Impressions is owned by Hernandez.
Grenier did not return calls for comment.
Federal funding
The $10 million Stella Arms project received $932,000 in federal funding, according to Gregory G. Carson, field office director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Manchester.
The New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority allocated $500,000 of its HUD HOME funding to the apartment complex while the city chipped in another $432,000 of its funding from HUD HOME, a program that subsidizes construction of affordable housing.
Grenier's company also subcontracted work to Hernandez on the Family Willows project, the conversion of the former Our Lady of the Cedars Church at 161 S. Beech St. into a 29-unit affordable housing complex and counseling center for women with children.
According to Carson, the NHHFA provided $1.5 million in funding for the Family Willows project: $1.1 million in HUD HOME funds and another $400,000 from another HUD initiative, the Supportive Housing Program.
Carson said all HUD funding is awarded through intermediaries, "mostly state and local governments who determine their own funding priorities and have flexibility in how they use the funding."
Police photos of suspects arrested in Manchester on suspicion of dealing cocaine, including drywall company owners Juan Garcia Hernandez, top left, and Marco Garcia, bottom left. (BOB LAPREE)
â–ºA shadowy world of corruption, exploitation with illegal workers and 'jefes' (3)
Hutter Construction of New Ipswich was the general contractor for Family Willows.
"The actual contract was with Granite State Drywall," said Chad Gibson, Hutter's project manager, adding that he was unaware Hernandez was involved in the project.
"It would be very hard for us to police three tiers down the line who is hiring them," Gibson said. "It's somewhat beyond our control."
Record drug bust
Hernandez and four others were arrested Easter Sunday by federal and local authorities, who said they recovered about 100 pounds of cocaine -- worth more than $4 million on the street -- and $60,000 in cash from his 4481 Brown Ave. residence.
Arrested along with Hernandez, 32, were Marcos Garcia, 45; Ciro Lopez Garcia, 43; Jose Cisneros, 43; and Janeth Sarmiento, 21.
A former worker, who asked that his name not be published because he is an illegal immigrant and fears possible retribution from Hernandez's associates, said workers were aware of Hernandez's alleged drug-dealing.
Hernandez, known to employees as "Juan Garcia" and often seen driving a tricked-out Chevy Tahoe with chrome spinners on the wheels, gave some workers cocaine to make them work faster, the former employee alleged.
Hernandez, he said, also treated workers with disdain, frequently dismissing them with a wave of a hand when they asked for their wages. When he did pay employees, he paid them cash, the former employee said.
Skidmore said Hernandez typically paid employees for their first two weeks of work, but often ceased paying them after that.
When workers complained, she said, Hernandez threatened to turn them in to the U.S. Immigration, Customs and Enforcement.
Still, Skidmore said, Hernandez had many loyal employees who continued working for him, sometimes for weeks without being paid. Others, she said, quickly moved on to other jobs once they didn't get their earnings.
Deputy Commissioner of Labor David Wihby said Hernandez was cited on Jan. 10, 2008, for 28 violations related to record-keeping and failure to post labor information at a worksite.
He said inspectors go to work sites after complaints are filed.
In the case of Hernandez and Drywall Impressions, Wihby said, inspectors did not find any illegal workers at construction sites. He said that could be because union activists confronted subcontractors about the situation before filing complaints with the labor department.
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx ... 726e984432
