Mayor Frank Picozzi has called on state police to investigate allegations that the Warwick School Department awarded contracts totaling more than $400,000 to a trucking company that wasn’t licensed and lacked insurance without seeking competitive bids.

Picozzi said Saturday he called the state police Friday after learning of the allegations made in emails earlier in the week by Chuck Lamendola, president of Astro of New England LLC to Superintendent of schools Lynn Dambruch, to him and the Warwick Beacon. School department personnel did not respond to a call for comment last Tuesday. Dambruch issued a statement the following day saying the department had retained an “outside investigator” (an attorney) to look into the claims and would not have comment until the investigation is completed

Lamendola, whose moving company has done numerous jobs for the schools, state agencies and ironically the state police, told the Beacon he warned the school department when he learned of the award of two contracts to Jada Trucking LLC of Warwick. David Oliver, owner of Jada, is a cousin of Kevin Oliver who oversees school buildings and maintenance.

Estimates requested

Astro knew of the work and submitted estimates although there had not been a formal bid process. Lamendola said Astro was contacted directly by Kevin Oliver to survey and provide estimates for moving services to Greenwood and Holliman.

On Jan. 21, Jada submitted a $192,000 estimate to move furniture out of Holliman School in preparation of nearly yearlong renovations and then move it back when the school work is completed. The furnishings are to be moved to the Gorton Administration building where the school will operate for the upcoming academic year. On Jan. 19, Jada provided an estimate of $197,000 to remove Greenwood School furniture and store it in trailers and return it once work at Greenwood School is completed this summer. The trailers containing the furniture are currently parked at Robertson School.

Lamendola said Jada also provided services at Toll Gate costing more than $32,000 that was never advertised that he was totally unaware of until recently.      

When Lamendola learned Jada had been issued a purchase order for the work, he questioned why there hadn’t been a bid process. He also told the school department that Jada did not have a license from the Public Utilities Commission to operate a trucking company and that the company lacked a certificate of insurance on file. He expected the department would nullify its agreement with Jada and a bidding process would follow. Instead, he said, he received an email the next day saying the department would be using Jada and it appears Jada had met all the requirements.

Lamendola has no issue with the quality of work performed by Jada and, in fact has hired them as subs on moving jobs he’s done for Warwick schools.

Lamendola said subs work under employer/employee contracts where the customer is covered under Astro’s liability insurances and registrations.

The school department has since canceled the Jada contract and issued a request for proposals for the Holliman and Greenwood work. Some payments have been made to Jada for work already performed. Lamendola reported Jada appeared before the R.I. Division of Public Utilities and Carriers last Wednesday with an application to register his trucking company. Such licensing can take from ten days to 17 days.

Facing deadline to open schools

Apart from questions over the lack of bids and how the contract was awarded without school committee approval, the issue is especially challenging at this time. Holliman classrooms must be set up and operational at Gorton in time for the start of school. The same holds true for Greenwood.

Lamendola points out the Greenwood furniture is stored in unregistered trailers that Jada rented for that purpose. Now, he says, since the trailers can’t be used on public roads they would have to be offloaded into registered trailers before making the trip to Greenwood.

Warwick Beacon efforts to reach David Oliver by phone or email were unsuccessful. On Monday, however, WPRI reported Oliver acknowledged he’d made a mistake asking for the work, saying he didn’t realize he wasn’t properly licensed with the R.I. Division of Public Utilities and Carriers.

WPRI quoted Oliver saying, “It was an honest mistake on my end…This is the first time I went out and did everything on my own…It’s just an honest mistake that I missed a filing.” WPRI also quoted Oliver as saying that his cousin, Kevin Oliver, had nothing to do with him getting the school contract.

This Friday at 2 p.m.  the school department will open bids for the relocation and setup of Holliman furniture at Gorton and the return of that furniture when the school reopens next year; the removal of the Greenwood furniture from trailers and its setup at Greenwood and the removal of furniture from Drum Rock to the Career and Tech Center, school building at Draper Avenue and to trailers for storage.

Lamendola said the department is either for “one lump sum” bid or that the projects can be bid separately. He noted that the Holliman work is especially time consuming because of the restrictions of a small elevator. He projected the move would require more than 50 truck loads.

Awards seemingly violate procedures

According to the school department website, “all purchases in excess of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for construction and five thousand ($5,000) for all other purposes shall be made through the competitive bid process and awarded by the School Committee in open session.

“All purchases below $1,000 for all departments except buildings and maintenance shall be considered small purchases and shall be approved by the superintendent or his/her designee.

“Purchases by buildings and maintenance under $2500 shall be considered small purchases and shall be approved by the superintendent. In the event of an emergency, the superintendent and CFO will contact the School Committee chair or designee for authorization for expenditure.

“Procurement requirements shall not be artificially divided so as to constitute a small purchase under this section.”

School Committee Chair Shaun Galligan and Building Committee Chair David Testa declined comment at this time, noting that an investigation is underway.

School Committee member Leah Hazelwood, the endorsed Democratic candidate running for mayor, issued this statement: “The investigation into awarded contracts highlights the need for improved governance and oversight of the Building Committee. The Building Committee awarded contracts upwards of $389,000. The Building Committee holds a combination of two City Officials, two community members, Warwick School Department Employees, and one Warwick School Committee member, all of whom voted unanimously for these contracts. The Building Committee will hold direct oversight of the new high school bond project for $350 million and a payback timetable of 20-plus years; these are high stakes, and there is no room for error. I am determined to make changes that will offer complete transparency and accountability to the taxpayer.”

In a Facebook post, Mayor Picozzi said the state police financial crimes unit would conduct an investigation.

“At this point I have no reason to suspect any corruption and will keep an open mind until after the investigation is concluded, however at the very least it appears that the school department did not follow procurement laws and regulations,” he writes.