Lexington Herald Leader Logo

9 road deals linked to Lawson | Lexington Herald Leader

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • All News
    • Business
    • Communities
    • Counties
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Lexington
    • Local
    • Most Wanted
    • Nation/World
    • News Photos
    • News Videos
    • Politics
    • Searchable Databases
    • State
    • Watchdog
    • Columns
    • Tom Eblen
    • All Sports
    • UK Sports
    • College Sports
    • Next Cats Recruiting
    • High School
    • Horses
    • Kentucky Speedway
    • Lexington Legends
    • Reds
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • NASCAR
    • NFL
    • Sports Photos
    • Sports Videos
    • Columns
    • John Clay's Columns
    • Mark Story
    • Next Cats Recruiting
    • All UK Sports
    • Next Cats Recruiting
    • Baseball
    • Basketball - Men
    • Basketball - Women
    • Recruiting
    • Ex-Cats
    • Football
    • UK Photos
    • UK Videos
    • More UK Sports
    • Columns
    • John Clay's Blog
    • Mark Story
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • All Entertainment
    • Books
    • Celebrities
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Events Calendar
    • Horoscopes
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Restaurants
    • Stage & Dance
    • TV
    • Visual Arts
    • Entertainment Photos
    • Entertainment Videos
    • News Blogs
    • Kentucky Weather
    • Photo Archive
    • Sports Blogs
    • John Clay's Blog
    • High School
    • UK Football
    • UK Men's Basketball
    • UK Women's Basketball
    • Lexington Legends
    • Entertainment Blogs
    • Walter Tunis on Music
    • All Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Joel Pett
    • Letters to the Editor
    • National Columnists
    • Op-Ed
    • Submit a Letter
    • All Living
    • Celebrations
    • Family
    • Fashion
    • Food & Drink
    • Fru-Gal: Deb Morris
    • Health & Medicine
    • Home & Garden
    • Paul Prather
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Readers' Choice
    • Kentucky Obituaries
    • Obituaries in the News
    • Submit an Obituary
    • Customer Service
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • E-edition
    • Page Reprints
    • Photo Reprints
    • RSS Feeds
    • Special Sections
    • Site Information
    • Advertise With Us
    • Archives
    • Mobile
    • Mobile Apps & eReaders
    • Newsletters
    • Social
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Google+
    • Today's Circulars
    • Classifieds
    • Jobs
    • Cars
    • Homes
    • Homeseller
    • Legal Notices
  • Place an Ad
  • Mobile & Apps

Latest News

9 road deals linked to Lawson

By Jack Brammer and Beth Musgrave - jbrammer@herald-leader.com

    ORDER REPRINT →

August 22, 2008 12:00 AM

FRANKFORT — Nine of the 13 state road contracts subpoenaed by a federal grand jury investigating alleged bid-rigging in the Transportation Cabinet have ties to politically influential road contractor Leonard Lawson.

Those contracts, awarded in 2006 and 2007, total $129,969,573, the same amount identified in an earlier FBI affidavit that alleged Lawson bribed a state highway engineer to get confidential cost estimates of road projects.

The FBI affidavit, filed Aug. 8 in U.S. District Court in London, said ”the total value of contracts won by Lawson affiliated companies for which he had the KTC (Kentucky Transportation Cabinet) engineer’s estimates during 2006-2007 was approximately $129,969,000.“

The sworn statement also said state highway engineer James Rummage was paid $20,000 in cash by Lawson and sometimes gave the secret estimates to then-Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to the Lexington Herald-Leader

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Lawson might have tried to repay Nighbert by funneling money through an Eastern Kentucky corporation, the affidavit said.

The internal cabinet estimates could help a contractor maximize profits, especially if the contractor were the sole bidder. The cabinet typically rejects bids that are more than 7 percent greater than its own estimate.

Each of the nine subpoenaed contracts related to Lawson were single-bid contracts, but the bids are not uniformly 7 percent above the cabinet’s own estimates. They range from 3.7 percent below the cabinet’s estimated costs to 8.5 percent above.

An attorney for Nighbert has said his client has done nothing wrong. Lawson’s lawyer has questioned why information about the investigation has been leaked to the public, and stressed that Lawson should be presumed innocent.

Rummage is assisting federal investigators. No charges have been filed in the case.

A federal grand jury subpoenaed records of the 13 state road contracts on Aug. 7.

Chuck Wolfe, a spokesman for the Transportation Cabinet, said Thursday that ”the cabinet does not know why these contracts were selected.“

The two-page subpoena asks for ”any and all itemized engineer’s estimates and copies of all bids submitted“ for the contracts.

The Herald-Leader found through an open records request that bids by Lawson-related companies were exactly 7 percent higher than the cabinet’s estimates on five contracts in 2006 and 2007.

State transportation records also show that Lawson’s companies bid between 6 percent and 7 percent higher on 11 contracts.

Of the nine Lawson-related contracts subpoenaed by the grand jury, five were won by Gaddie-Shamrock LLC of Columbia, two by L-M Asphalt Partners LTD of Lexington, one by Bizzack Construction LLC of Lexington and one by Central Rock JV Nally & Gibson of Lexington.

Other companies’ contracts subpoenaed were Elmo Greer & Sons of London, Faulkner Construction of Louisville, Kay & Kay Contracting of London and Hall Contracting of Louisville.

What the grand jury wanted

Here is a list of contracts subpoenaed. Each item includes the date bids were let, the winning company, the amount awarded, the number of bidders, percentage of variance from the cabinet’s internal estimate and a description of the project.

June 23, 2006: Gaddie-Shamrock LLC. $6,608,473.58. One bidder. 5.4 percent above estimated cost. Various routes in Adair, Clinton, Cumberland and Russell counties.

July 21, 2006: Elmo Greer & Sons. $10,863,119.73. One bidder. 6.8 percent above estimated cost. Work on I-75 in Laurel County.

July 21, 2006: L-M Asphalt Partners LTD. $25,070,242.98. One bidder. 3.2 percent above estimated cost. Work on I-75 in Fayette County.

Aug. 25, 2006: Kay & Kay Contracting. $16,894,042. Two bidders. 5.2 percent below estimated cost. Work on I-75 in Laurel County.

Oct. 27, 2006: Gaddie-Shamrock LLC. $3,576,655.05. One bidder. 8.5 percent above estimated cost. Work on Louie B. Nunn Parkway in Adair County.

Nov. 17, 2006: Faulkner Construction. $4,413,700. Seven bidders. 30.5 percent below estimated cost. Work on bridge in Jefferson County.

Nov. 17, 2006: Central Rock JV Nally & Gibson. $49,880,219.02 awarded. One bidder. 3.7 percent below estimated cost. Work on bridge on I-75 in Scott County.

Nov. 17, 2006: Hall Contracting. $1.6 million. Three bidders. 2.5 percent above estimated cost. Work on weigh station on I-75 and I-71 rest room facilities for Kenton and Boone counties.

Dec. 15, 2006: Gaddie-Shamrock LLC. $3,772,804.34. One bidder. 5.8 percent above estimated cost. Work on Louie B. Nunn Parkway in Adair County.

Dec. 15, 2006: Gaddie-Shamrock LLC. $5,629,050.64. One bidder. 7.2 percent above estimated cost. Work on Louie B. Nunn Parkway in Adair and Russell counties.

March 23, 2007: L-M Asphalt Partners LTD. $14,067,638.48. One bidder. 7.9 percent above estimated cost. Pavement work on I-75 in Fayette County.

March 23, 2007: Gaddie-Shamrock LLC. $2,910,926.58. One bidder. 5.6 percent above estimated cost. Work on Kentucky 55 in Adair County.

Sept. 7, 2007: Bizzack Construction LLC. $18,453,552.91. One bidder. 3.3 percent above estimated cost. Work on I-64 near Catlettsburg.

  Comments  

Videos

Phillip Oakley, father of Jenna Oakley, expresses frustration after court

‘Tom, Padma and I were like ... ‘ we need a bucket of this’’

View More Video

Trending Stories

In ‘really good spirits,’ Kentucky’s Travis sets target date for return

February 21, 2019 05:51 PM

9 things Kentucky teachers should know about the educator-proposed pension plan

February 21, 2019 12:44 PM

‘Top Chef’ Kentucky’s Graham Elliot is in town and you’ll never guess where he ate.

February 21, 2019 12:14 PM

Many Kentucky houseboat owners aren’t paying their taxes. This would make them.

February 21, 2019 10:04 AM

European basketball recruit offers another intriguing option for Kentucky next season

February 21, 2019 06:05 PM

Read Next

Police: Patriots owner Robert Kraft solicited prostitute
Video media Created with Sketch.

National

Police: Patriots owner Robert Kraft solicited prostitute

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 22, 2019 01:44 PM

Police in Florida have charged New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft with misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution, saying they have videotape of him paying for a sex act inside an illicit massage parlor.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to the Lexington Herald-Leader

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE LATEST NEWS

Man accused of fatally shooting victim in head during scuffle in Lexington pleads guilty

Crime

Man accused of fatally shooting victim in head during scuffle in Lexington pleads guilty

February 22, 2019 01:25 PM
Suspect arrested after four shot, two killed in related shootings in Kentucky town

Crime

Suspect arrested after four shot, two killed in related shootings in Kentucky town

February 22, 2019 07:17 AM
Lawmakers want to make sex with animals, child sex dolls illegal in Kentucky

Latest News

Lawmakers want to make sex with animals, child sex dolls illegal in Kentucky

February 22, 2019 01:10 PM

Latest News

Patriots owner Robert Kraft among hundreds charged in South Florida sex traffic sting

February 22, 2019 12:23 PM
Teen apologizes for stepmother’s Kentucky slaying. Father objects to delay in sentencing.

Crime

Teen apologizes for stepmother’s Kentucky slaying. Father objects to delay in sentencing.

February 22, 2019 12:54 PM
How are you protecting your digital data? Here are three steps to follow.

Business

How are you protecting your digital data? Here are three steps to follow.

February 22, 2019 12:46 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Lexington Herald Leader App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Archives
Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Place a Classified Ad
  • Local Deals
  • Digital Solutions
  • Media Kit
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story