Four more defendants plead guilty to bid rigging in asphalt paving contracts

According to court documents and proceedings, four defendants — Asphalt Specialists LLC, its former vice president, Bruce F. Israel, Al’s Asphalt Paving Company Inc. (Al’s Asphalt) and its president, Edward D. Swanson — conspired with each other and other co-conspirators to rig bids in each other’s favour from March 2013 through November 2018.

Asphalt Specialists and Israel also participated in a separate conspiracy with F. Allied Construction Company Inc. (Allied) and its employees from July 2017 until May 2021.

Meanwhile, Al’s Asphalt and Swanson participated in a separate conspiracy of their own with Allied and its employees from June 2013 until June 2019.

Allied and two of its executives previously pleaded guilty in August 2023 for their participation in the conspiracies with Asphalt Specialists LLC and Al’s Asphalt.

The Justice Department said that each case operated in much the same way: the co-conspirators coordinated each other’s bid prices so that the agreed-upon losing company would submit intentionally non-competitive bids.

These bids gave customers the false impression of competition. But the co-conspirators had already decided among themselves who would win the contracts.

The defendants each pleaded guilty to two counts of violating Section One of the Sherman Act. The maximum penalty for individuals is 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. The maximum penalty for corporations is a $100 million criminal fine. The fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either amount is greater than the maximum fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines.

“Asphalt paving is a key component of our transportation infrastructure,” said deputy assistant attorney general Manish Kumar of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The division and our law enforcement partners will continue to prosecute corporations and individuals who undermine the competition that is crucial to responsible taxpayer spending and providing transportation services throughout Michigan.”