Thread: DeFede Illegals Building Schools

I am glad they mentioned the baseball stadium the politicinas want to build at taxpayers expense. Many of us have been arguing the fact that it will only create jobs for illegals. As for the schools using illegals that is the way the politicians do business here. It is just another example of lack of assimilation.

http://cbs4.com/iteam/school.constructi ... 64228.html

Mar 20, 2009 8:27 pm US/Eastern
I-Team: School Construction Site Investigated Reporting
Jim DeFede CBS

Three construction companies that have received millions of dollars of taxpayer money are being investigated for allegedly using illegal immigrants at a school construction site in Miami, CBS4 News has learned.

As part of the ongoing criminal investigation, 22 undocumented workers were taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last Friday, shortly after the workers left the construction project at Southside Elementary, located at 45 SW 13th Street.

According to sources familiar with the investigation, the workers were being paid under fictitious names given to them by construction managers. Their paychecks were cashed on site and the workers were charged a fee for the check cashing services.

At least five of the workers had criminal records, according to sources, and may not have been able to pass mandatory school background checks to work on school grounds.

Nevertheless, the primary focus of the investigation is on the companies that hired the undocumented workers and the lengths officials for those companies allegedly took to conceal the workers' true identities. Investigators are also looking at how much – or in this case, how little – the illegal immigrants were being paid.

Among the alleged crimes being investigated by both state and federal agents are tax evasion, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit fraud. More than a dozen subpoenas were issued this week for payroll and bank records from the various companies involved in the construction project. On Monday, investigators questioned construction company officials at the job site.

A broader investigation is also underway into how school district policies allow, and even encourage, the use of illegal immigrants in its construction projects.

These investigations come at a time when Miami-Dade Public Schools are about to receive millions of dollars in stimulus money from Washington for school construction here in South Florida.

Neither ICE nor the Miami-Dade Inspector General's Office, which initiated the investigation, would discuss the case. An ICE spokeswoman issued a brief statement saying: "This is part of an ongoing targeted criminal investigation focusing on suspected illegal activity. In order to preserve the integrity of this investigation and any potential prosecution efforts related to these arrests, we are not at liberty to provide more details."

Miami-Dade school district spokesman John Schuster was aware of the investigation. "The school district is fully cooperating with the investigation that is presently being conducted and is in full compliance with the Jessica Lunsford Act," he said referring to the law which is designed to protect students from criminals on school grounds. "Further, in this time of such dire economic conditions for our community, we condemn any alleged practice that would be taken to circumvent the law."

But AFL-CIO president Fred Frost said the school district needs to address this problem more aggressively. "Our local government has got to wake up," Frost said. "It is disgusting and super disturbing that a government agency, the school board, has actually condoned this type of activity. You have people now who are being exploited. The undocumented workers are being exploited and you are denying a job to an American citizen. That borders on criminality as far as I'm concerned."

He said the school district knows that the companies they hire use illegal immigrants, but the school district decides instead to turn a blind eye to it.

"They know exactly what's going on," he said.

An examination of the school district's construction program shows how it is open for abuse.

In the case of Southside Elementary, the company selected to build the additional classrooms was Coastal Construction, one of the largest construction companies in South Florida. Over the years, Coastal has been awarded tens of millions of dollars in contracts from Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

Coastal was given what is known as a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) contract for the Southside Elementary project worth a total of $16.17 million. Under a GMP contract, the school district locks in a fixed price and doesn't have to worry about cost over runs. But critics warn that GMPs also encourage companies to cut corners and find ways to reduce costs while still billing the school district for the full amount of the contract.

While Coastal is the primary contractor, it is believed that the illegal immigrants were working for one of the subcontractors brought in by Coastal.

No criminal charges have been filed against Coastal or any of the subcontractors.

Coastal president Dan Whiteman issued a statement late Friday that said: "Coastal is aware of the investigation by the Inspector General and has been directed by the Inspector General's office to avoid any comment on this matter as it is an ongoing investigation. Coastal is fully cooperating and believes it remains in complete compliance with all State and Federal Laws."

Under its proposal to the school district, Coastal promised to pay workers on their site according to the prevailing wage, which is $32 an hour for carpenters and $22 an hour for basic construction workers.

According to those familiar with the job site, the illegal immigrants, however, were being paid substantially less. They were also allegedly not being paid for any overtime they worked.

Those checks were handed out on Fridays, according to sources, but the checks were issued under fictitious names. Since the workers would not be able to cash them on their own – because they wouldn't have identification under the fictitious name on their check – arrangements were made to have "money trucks" come to the site and cash the checks for the workers without the workers having to show any form of identification. A 1.5 percent check-cashing fee was taken from the check.

Fred Frost said the entire affair makes him ill. And between the stimulus money and the money that may be spent on a new baseball stadium for the Marlins, he said steps need to be taken to make sure that money goes to helping the American people.

"I can't stomach anymore watching people begging for the opportunity to work in this town," he said. "We have 15,000 construction workers that have lost their jobs; 150,000 statewide. There are people dying on the vine here saying, `Please, give me the opportunity to work to provide food for my family.' This is criminal and we can't do it anymore."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Are these some of the "Very very special patriots" we are hearing about?

According to Mel Martinez they are citizens.

Perhaps we should run them all through the E-verify system and find out if they are indeed legal citizens.

How is it that Panama City has an Illegal Alien Enforcement Unit, and you don't? There was an article posted here yesterday that I forwarded to my Gov ( not that it will help, but I ride her butt every day...LOL!), it was about this exact same thing only North Florida.

Those checks were handed out on Fridays, according to sources, but the checks were issued under fictitious names. Since the workers would not be able to cash them on their own – because they wouldn't have identification under the fictitious name on their check – arrangements were made to have "money trucks" come to the site and cash the checks for the workers without the workers having to show any form of identification. A 1.5 percent check-cashing fee was taken from the check.

<<<< HOLY CRAP! The employers were getting these guys going BOTH ways, paying them under the table AND charging them to get their pay! How FREAKING corrupt can you get?

The way that this story would get any traction with liberal politicians would be if unions would make an issue of it. And they really should. The hitch is that construction unions have adopted an adjunct policy of seeking to organize illegals, too. They lobbied for 'prevailing wage' contracts on Stimulus funded projects--intending those to be unionized---but if it is illegals getting the employment then they will use that as just another incentive for the illegals to join the union.

In other words they don't really care; they will do whatever it takes to expand membership...with illegals if they have to.

The construction companies involved need to have their licenses pulled and the people responsible for hiring illegal aliens need to go to jail.

Just wonder if these guys also deducted social security and medicare payments from the workers and if they considered that additional profit instead of sending it on to the government?

..the union brass is going to have a hard time explaining to its unemployed members why the union should be using dues-based resources to recruit illegal alien workers to its rank and file...it's going to be just a matter of time before union members start getting their feathers rankled when they see the unions courting illegals.....I don't doubt that for a minute.

Some of the unions in South Florida are actually calling ICE on the illegals because union people are unemployed while illegals are working. They were the ones who had DeFede start writing the series if articles about the Mexican sheet workers here on visas. Down here the legal immigrant Latinos don't have any problems hiring illegals and encourage others to do so. I know people who were called racist by them because they won't hire illegals.