Clandestino
02-22-2005, 12:30 PM
Kelly USA Manager: $1,000,000 Contract Rigged
LAST UPDATE: 2/22/2005 6:52:34 AM
Posted By: Holly Whisenhunt
Watch this story...
It's the explosive undercover video that has city hall buzzing. A Kelly USA manager caught on tape by the Trouble Shooters talking about possible corruption.
He claims the bidding for a contract worth more than $1,000,000 - was rigged to guarantee it would go to a company owned by the family of a city councilman.
Now Kelly USA officials are scrambling to keep the lid on this scandal uncovered by the Trouble Shooters. News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooter Brian Collister has the undercover video you'll only see on News 4.
Kelly USA, the former Air Force Base on the Southwest side of San Antonio, is now a booming business park thanks to millions of your tax dollars.
The public agency that runs it gave the job of keeping Kelly beautiful to a company called Fairway Landscaping and Nursery.
In December Fairway's landscaping contract expired. So Kelly USA officials put out a request for bids for any company wanting to try and land the lucrative contract.
But a former employee, whose job was eliminated and asked us not to show her face and use her name, says she was told by a high ranking manager at Kelly that only Fairway would get the contract.
Former employee: "I was told that he was made by his top managers or bosses to change the numbers for Fairways favor."
Collister asks: "Why would they rig the bid so Fairway would get the contract?"
Former employee: "According to this manager, his bosses wanted Fairway to get this contract because they have a city councilman in their family and that would help GKDA."
That San Antonio City Councilman is Richard Perez. His family owns Fairway and he’s the company's Vice President of Business Development. Kelly USA is also in Perez’s district.
And according to the former employee who met with the Trouble Shooters, the contract went to Fairway even though another company, Grounds Control, had a lower bid.
Former employee:" It didn't matter that this other company had put in a bid for $200,000 less than Fairway. The scoring would have to be changed to make it look like Fairway had the better scoring and that's why they were going with them."
To confirm her story the Trouble Shooters asked the former employee to go undercover. So on a rainy day last month, she met Kelly USA’s Director of Real Estate, Ray Crosby, at a Southside restaurant.
On our undercover Crosby says he was pressured to fix the bid for Fairway, something he claims he also told to the Texas Rangers.
Former employee: "Ray, aren't you afraid that they're going to accuse you of changing the numbers?"
Crosby: "Yeah, oh yeah. But you see that's why, I feel a little better because I've talked to, I was real honest with those Ranger guys about that, I was pressured to do it, I was pressured."
Former employee: “But you told them you did do it?”
Crosby: "Yeah."
Former Employee: “For Bruce and Alan?”
Crosby: “Yeah, right, right.”
Bruce and Alan are Crosby’s bosses at Kelly USA, Chief Executive Officer Bruce Miller and Chief Financial Officer Alan Clark.
Next on the tape, Crosby claims the evaluation sheets for the companies that turned in bids were manipulated to guarantee Fairway would score the highest and win the contract, which was not required to be given to the lowest bidder.
Former employee: “So how did ya'll change the numbers?"
Crosby: “We didn't necessarily change them, what we did was.”
Former employee: “Because didn't you tell me that Grounds Control was a lot cheaper?"
Crosby: “Yeah, we just were able to work the scoring around so that even though they were cheaper they didn't win the scoring because we weighted other factors high enough to where they, they got credit for being…, Grounds Control got credit for being the least....”
Former Employee: “Expensive?”
Crosby: "Least expensive, but experience and you know past experience and recommendations and SWMBE, and this stuff....overrode it.”
That way Fairway came out with the highest score and won the three year contract worth $1.1 million dollars. So what's the payoff for Kelly USA? Here is what Crosby says:
Former employee: “You change the numbers and then Alan and Bruce look good, or?”
Crosby: “They get what they want, they get, Fairway gets the contract, and Perez get's his brother... the umm ... they get they get...”
Former Employee: “His family.”
Crosby: “His family gets money and then I guess theoretically Perez helps us get what we want in the council. That’s the way it's supposed to work right? That's why you're nice to a councilman is because they help you in the council.”
We sat down with Crosby’s boss CEO Bruce Miller who had no idea we had this tape.
Collister: “Why did Fairway get the new contract?”
Miller: “They were the best applicant.”
Collister: “Did you have any input on the process?”
Miller: “No, other than to say, “Let's make sure that we are extremely objective, because there is a councilman associated with the company."”
But before showing Miller the tape Collister asked him to describe his director of real estate, Ray Crosby.
Miller: “Honest, hardworking, objective.”
Collister: “So, Ray Crosby is honest and hard working?”
Miller: “Yes.”
Collister: “If Ray Crosby came to you and told you something would you believe him?”
Miller: “Yes.”
Collister: “So, he is an honest employee?”
Miller: “Yes.”
That's when the Trouble Shooters rolled the tape. After Miller watched the tape Collister says, “You have an employee on here who you described as honest and hardworking…”
Miller: “Yes, I do.”
Collister: “Saying that you told him to rig the bid.”
Miller: “That's not correct.”
Collister: “Did you rig the bid?”
Miller: “No.”
Collister: “If you did it, say it now.”
Miller: “It did not happen.”
And Miller denies he asked for the scoring to be changed on the evaluation sheets.
Miller: “I have not touched any scoring, I have not manipulated anything.”
Collister: “He (Crosby) says you did.”
Miller: “Well that's not correct.”
Collister: “He's told the Texas Rangers that you did.”
Miller: “Well that's fine; I've never even seen the evaluation forms. We've never had this kind of discussion.”
Collister: “So you never told him to rig the bid?”
Miller: “That is correct.”
Collister: “You didn't want favors at city council?”
Miller: “No, our relationship with city council is pretty straight forward.”
We got the same denials from Chief Financial Officer Alan Clark, the other boss who Crosby says pressured him, “Mr. Crosby's statements are absolutely false, completely.”
Before we left Kelly USA the Trouble Shooters asked to talk to Crosby on camera.
Collister: “And we'll get the employee to explain why he said the contract was rigged...We can, let’s go get him.”
Miller: “Okay.”
We caught a glimpse of Crosby as he was being pulled into Miller’s office to talk to his boss and their attorney.
But minutes after agreeing to let us talk to him the Kelly USA attorney says no interview. We watched as Crosby, now aware of the tape, heads back to his office.
So what does Councilman Richard Perez have to say? The Trouble Shooters met with him.
Collister: “He says on the tape he (Crosby) was pressured to make sure your family got the contract.”
Perez: “That's what he said. Uh, certainly I have no knowledge of that.”
Perez insists he and his family did nothing wrong. And we'd like to point out Ray Crosby, on our undercover video, never mentions any pressure from Perez or his family.
Collister: “At any time did you directly or indirectly try to influence the bidding process so that your family could get the contract?”
Perez: “Of course not, you know. That is not what I do. That is not what my family does. We have not ever influenced anyone to do anything.”
The Trouble Shooters asked Perez why he thinks Kelly USA might have done this.
Collister: “He says that Bruce Miller and a couple of other he says his bosses pressured him to do it. Do you think his bosses pressured him to do it?”
Perez: “I don't see why. I don't see why they would ever pressure anyone to do it. Uh…”
Collister: “Don't you think they would love to have a councilman connection to city hall and that they wouldn't want to upset the councilman?”
Perez: “Well you know the ironic thing is they already have a councilman connection. You know my job is to represent everybody in my district.”
And as far as the scoring of the bids being manipulated?
Perez: “Well I think it would be ideal for whoever to go and have this guy show them how the numbers were juggled. We didn't juggle anything. We've submitted a proposal it was a strong proposal and we won. And that's all that I know.”
The Perez family's last contract was worth $1.8 million over three years. Fairway ended up getting paid $2.2 million thanks to extra work that was added.
The board overseeing Kelly USA meets this Wednesday night. We’ll be there to get reaction from board members and let you know what happens next.
Also tomorrow night, the Trouble Shooters show our undercover tape to investigators with the San Antonio District Attorney's office.
Plus see an exclusive interview with the Ray Crosby, the man at the center of this scandal, who says it’s all true and stands by what he said on tape.
LAST UPDATE: 2/22/2005 6:52:34 AM
Posted By: Holly Whisenhunt
Watch this story...
It's the explosive undercover video that has city hall buzzing. A Kelly USA manager caught on tape by the Trouble Shooters talking about possible corruption.
He claims the bidding for a contract worth more than $1,000,000 - was rigged to guarantee it would go to a company owned by the family of a city councilman.
Now Kelly USA officials are scrambling to keep the lid on this scandal uncovered by the Trouble Shooters. News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooter Brian Collister has the undercover video you'll only see on News 4.
Kelly USA, the former Air Force Base on the Southwest side of San Antonio, is now a booming business park thanks to millions of your tax dollars.
The public agency that runs it gave the job of keeping Kelly beautiful to a company called Fairway Landscaping and Nursery.
In December Fairway's landscaping contract expired. So Kelly USA officials put out a request for bids for any company wanting to try and land the lucrative contract.
But a former employee, whose job was eliminated and asked us not to show her face and use her name, says she was told by a high ranking manager at Kelly that only Fairway would get the contract.
Former employee: "I was told that he was made by his top managers or bosses to change the numbers for Fairways favor."
Collister asks: "Why would they rig the bid so Fairway would get the contract?"
Former employee: "According to this manager, his bosses wanted Fairway to get this contract because they have a city councilman in their family and that would help GKDA."
That San Antonio City Councilman is Richard Perez. His family owns Fairway and he’s the company's Vice President of Business Development. Kelly USA is also in Perez’s district.
And according to the former employee who met with the Trouble Shooters, the contract went to Fairway even though another company, Grounds Control, had a lower bid.
Former employee:" It didn't matter that this other company had put in a bid for $200,000 less than Fairway. The scoring would have to be changed to make it look like Fairway had the better scoring and that's why they were going with them."
To confirm her story the Trouble Shooters asked the former employee to go undercover. So on a rainy day last month, she met Kelly USA’s Director of Real Estate, Ray Crosby, at a Southside restaurant.
On our undercover Crosby says he was pressured to fix the bid for Fairway, something he claims he also told to the Texas Rangers.
Former employee: "Ray, aren't you afraid that they're going to accuse you of changing the numbers?"
Crosby: "Yeah, oh yeah. But you see that's why, I feel a little better because I've talked to, I was real honest with those Ranger guys about that, I was pressured to do it, I was pressured."
Former employee: “But you told them you did do it?”
Crosby: "Yeah."
Former Employee: “For Bruce and Alan?”
Crosby: “Yeah, right, right.”
Bruce and Alan are Crosby’s bosses at Kelly USA, Chief Executive Officer Bruce Miller and Chief Financial Officer Alan Clark.
Next on the tape, Crosby claims the evaluation sheets for the companies that turned in bids were manipulated to guarantee Fairway would score the highest and win the contract, which was not required to be given to the lowest bidder.
Former employee: “So how did ya'll change the numbers?"
Crosby: “We didn't necessarily change them, what we did was.”
Former employee: “Because didn't you tell me that Grounds Control was a lot cheaper?"
Crosby: “Yeah, we just were able to work the scoring around so that even though they were cheaper they didn't win the scoring because we weighted other factors high enough to where they, they got credit for being…, Grounds Control got credit for being the least....”
Former Employee: “Expensive?”
Crosby: "Least expensive, but experience and you know past experience and recommendations and SWMBE, and this stuff....overrode it.”
That way Fairway came out with the highest score and won the three year contract worth $1.1 million dollars. So what's the payoff for Kelly USA? Here is what Crosby says:
Former employee: “You change the numbers and then Alan and Bruce look good, or?”
Crosby: “They get what they want, they get, Fairway gets the contract, and Perez get's his brother... the umm ... they get they get...”
Former Employee: “His family.”
Crosby: “His family gets money and then I guess theoretically Perez helps us get what we want in the council. That’s the way it's supposed to work right? That's why you're nice to a councilman is because they help you in the council.”
We sat down with Crosby’s boss CEO Bruce Miller who had no idea we had this tape.
Collister: “Why did Fairway get the new contract?”
Miller: “They were the best applicant.”
Collister: “Did you have any input on the process?”
Miller: “No, other than to say, “Let's make sure that we are extremely objective, because there is a councilman associated with the company."”
But before showing Miller the tape Collister asked him to describe his director of real estate, Ray Crosby.
Miller: “Honest, hardworking, objective.”
Collister: “So, Ray Crosby is honest and hard working?”
Miller: “Yes.”
Collister: “If Ray Crosby came to you and told you something would you believe him?”
Miller: “Yes.”
Collister: “So, he is an honest employee?”
Miller: “Yes.”
That's when the Trouble Shooters rolled the tape. After Miller watched the tape Collister says, “You have an employee on here who you described as honest and hardworking…”
Miller: “Yes, I do.”
Collister: “Saying that you told him to rig the bid.”
Miller: “That's not correct.”
Collister: “Did you rig the bid?”
Miller: “No.”
Collister: “If you did it, say it now.”
Miller: “It did not happen.”
And Miller denies he asked for the scoring to be changed on the evaluation sheets.
Miller: “I have not touched any scoring, I have not manipulated anything.”
Collister: “He (Crosby) says you did.”
Miller: “Well that's not correct.”
Collister: “He's told the Texas Rangers that you did.”
Miller: “Well that's fine; I've never even seen the evaluation forms. We've never had this kind of discussion.”
Collister: “So you never told him to rig the bid?”
Miller: “That is correct.”
Collister: “You didn't want favors at city council?”
Miller: “No, our relationship with city council is pretty straight forward.”
We got the same denials from Chief Financial Officer Alan Clark, the other boss who Crosby says pressured him, “Mr. Crosby's statements are absolutely false, completely.”
Before we left Kelly USA the Trouble Shooters asked to talk to Crosby on camera.
Collister: “And we'll get the employee to explain why he said the contract was rigged...We can, let’s go get him.”
Miller: “Okay.”
We caught a glimpse of Crosby as he was being pulled into Miller’s office to talk to his boss and their attorney.
But minutes after agreeing to let us talk to him the Kelly USA attorney says no interview. We watched as Crosby, now aware of the tape, heads back to his office.
So what does Councilman Richard Perez have to say? The Trouble Shooters met with him.
Collister: “He says on the tape he (Crosby) was pressured to make sure your family got the contract.”
Perez: “That's what he said. Uh, certainly I have no knowledge of that.”
Perez insists he and his family did nothing wrong. And we'd like to point out Ray Crosby, on our undercover video, never mentions any pressure from Perez or his family.
Collister: “At any time did you directly or indirectly try to influence the bidding process so that your family could get the contract?”
Perez: “Of course not, you know. That is not what I do. That is not what my family does. We have not ever influenced anyone to do anything.”
The Trouble Shooters asked Perez why he thinks Kelly USA might have done this.
Collister: “He says that Bruce Miller and a couple of other he says his bosses pressured him to do it. Do you think his bosses pressured him to do it?”
Perez: “I don't see why. I don't see why they would ever pressure anyone to do it. Uh…”
Collister: “Don't you think they would love to have a councilman connection to city hall and that they wouldn't want to upset the councilman?”
Perez: “Well you know the ironic thing is they already have a councilman connection. You know my job is to represent everybody in my district.”
And as far as the scoring of the bids being manipulated?
Perez: “Well I think it would be ideal for whoever to go and have this guy show them how the numbers were juggled. We didn't juggle anything. We've submitted a proposal it was a strong proposal and we won. And that's all that I know.”
The Perez family's last contract was worth $1.8 million over three years. Fairway ended up getting paid $2.2 million thanks to extra work that was added.
The board overseeing Kelly USA meets this Wednesday night. We’ll be there to get reaction from board members and let you know what happens next.
Also tomorrow night, the Trouble Shooters show our undercover tape to investigators with the San Antonio District Attorney's office.
Plus see an exclusive interview with the Ray Crosby, the man at the center of this scandal, who says it’s all true and stands by what he said on tape.