8 charged in alleged scheme to rig Trinidad airport work

CURT ANDERSON
Associated Press

MIAMI - Eight people and two companies have been indicted on charges stemming from an alleged scheme to rig bids for work on an international airport in Trinidad, federal officials said Tuesday.

Raul J. Gutierrez was charged along with his Miami-based company, Calmaquip Engineering Corp., and two other company executives. Also named in the indictment was Eduardo Hillman-Waller, co-owner of Birk Hillman Consultants Inc., a now-defunct construction firm that had offices in Miami and Orlando.

They and other alleged conspirators are accused of fraudulently winning contracts for work on the Piarco International Airport in Trinidad by arranging for shadow companies to submit falsely inflated bids so that their own bids - also inflated, but not as much - would be accepted.

One such bid by Calmaquip for airport specialty equipment such as jetways, elevators, escalators, security systems and a public address system was $15 million above the estimated cost of the project, according to the indictment returned by a federal grand jury last week and unsealed Tuesday.

In addition, the indictment charges that a series of complex financial transactions were used to hide the origin of fraudulently obtained money paid to Calmaquip by the government of Trinidad and Tobago.

The U.S. indictment follows charges already brought in Trinidad and Tobago against Gutierrez, Hillman-Waller and others including former Trinidadian government ministers arising from the airport project. Prosecutors there claim that $24 million in bribes and gifts were involved as part of a conspiracy to obtain $1.6 billion in airport contracts and payments. That case is ongoing.

The U.S. case was investigated chiefly by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Miami. The special agent in charge, Jesus Torres, said the defendants would face "the full weight of the law."

"ICE agents are working tirelessly to identify these fraudsters who think they can circumvent our nation's laws," Torres said.

Gutierrez, Hillman-Waller and Armando Paz, Calmaquip's treasurer, made an initial appearance Tuesday before a federal magistrate after their arrests. The others charged in the indictment had not been arrested as of Tuesday afternoon; they include citizens of Aruba, Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago.

The other company charged in the indictment is Northern Construction Ltd. of Trinidad and Tobago.

Gutierrez and Hillman-Waller were released on $1 million bail each; Paz was released on $100,000 bail. A court date for the three to enter pleas was set for Dec. 19. Their attorneys said the three men looked forward to a trial as a chance to clear their names.

"Raul Gutierrez and his company have enjoyed an excellent reputation in the airport construction industry," said his lawyer, Bruce Lyons. "This indictment is something we will deal with and hopefully we will be vindicated."

Those named in the indictment face sentences up to 20 years each if convicted of money laundering conspiracy and up to five years each on wire fraud conspiracy charges. The two companies could be fined up to $30 million each.

Trinidad and Tobago Attorney General John Jeremie said he is also pursuing a civil case in the United States seeking damages stemming from the alleged scheme.

"We have always believed that crimes of a serious nature were involved in the Piarco International Airport fraud and corruption case and that these crimes by their very nature had to have been committed in various jurisdictions, including the United States," Jeremie said in a statement.