It's not just going on in Roofing.....

Here's more proof of how Educational funding is targeted for illegally sole-sourced contracts and the kickbacks involved....in New Jersey this time (caught....that is.)

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/06/former_irvington_mayor_steele.html

and

http://www.nje3.org/?p=1362\

Reports say that:

"The state attorney general yesterday accused former Irvington mayor Michael Steele of accepting at least $120,000 to rig contracts in his job as business administrator for the township’s Board of Education."

and

"The first scheme involved a Florida-based janitorial supplies contractor, which paid Steele $120,000 in return for his ordering $900,000 worth of cleaning supplies from the company, prosecutors said. Typically, he got a $5,000 to $20,000 bribe for each order, which he would receive in the form of a personal check from the company’s owner, according to prosecutors."

I have actually witnessed a School District employee forcing illegal ly-sole-sourced janitorial supplies within 10 minutes of entering a construction trailer at a school site in East Palo Alto, CA.

About 2003, I worked for an architect in San Francisco who assured me they did not do school work. He insisted on making business cards for me with one of my other family surnames. On the fourth day, he took me down to East Palo Alto and to a school site under construction - one of his jobs.

Upon entering the Turner Construction Trailer, we had a meeting re: activities on the site and interpretations of the drawings. About ten minutes into the meeting, a 30ish Latino male burst into the trailer, apparently from the School District, interrupted the meeting, handing the Turner Construction Manager a sheaf of papers, saying, and I quote: "Here - these are the sanitary supplies we are using and you have to install their receptacles in the bathrooms."

The Turner Construction Manager took a quick look and said, "These aren't in the specs" and the School District employee told him that was what they were going to use, he had to do it.

Then the Turner Construction Manager crossed his arms, leaned back, and said "Kickbacks, eh?" and looked disgusted.

I quit that day, as soon as we got back to San Francisco. The architect was sweating bullets from the top of his forehead during that exchange.....