Englewood Drops Engineering Firm After Indictments

Englewood officials have cut ties with a Monmouth County-based engineering firm accused in a scheme to bypass the state’s pay-to-play laws while raking in millions from government contracts across the state, northjersey.com reported Friday.

Birdsall Services Group, with a host of contracts from municipalities throughout New Jersey, is accused of skirting the pay-to-play laws by reimbursing its employees for their personal, unreportable political contributions, according to the state Attorney General's Office. Seven current or former executives of the firm were indicted earlier this week in the alleged scheme.

Authorities have not named the elected officials to receive the donations, but the indictment mentions alleged illicit activity in Bergen County. In Englewood, the firm had been hired March 19 to conduct environmental testing on soil contamination at the city’s public works and fire department, and a municipal parking lot.

According to the report, City Engineer Kenneth Albert said he terminated the relationship with Birdsall a day after the indictments were announced. Englewood was set to pay the firm $218,375, the report said.

Birdsall’s legal troubles are not new and a company marketing executive previously pleaded guilty in the scheme. Albert, however, said he didn’t know the company was being investigated and was pleased with work done by a Birdsall-owned company.

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