Engineering Firm Involved in Bond Referendum Embroiled in Kickback Scandal

An engineering firm heavily involved in Ridgewood's $48 million referendum, M Disko Associates is asking one of it's 'most valued clients' to stick with it after a senior employee was charged by state attorney general for in three Union County school districts.

Disko engineer Kenneth Disko, 47 of Mountainside, is alleged to have masterminded a scheme in which he prepared fraudulent quotes and estimates for districts and directed contractors to inflate quotes and estimates for school districts in Tinton Falls, Scotch Plains-Fanwood and Westfield, according to Attorney General, Paula Dow.

Ridgewood's $48 million bond referendum, passed by voters in late 2009, has led to massive renovations to facilities at many of the village's antiquated schools.

While upgrading old, smaller buildings with additions and modern windows and materials, it also included controversial projects like the turfed football fields, which was then followed by the lights project. M Disko Associates, which does work on fields and tracks, has been working on Ridgewood's largest renovation in decades.

Three contractors were also charged with making false contract payments, in which Disko allegedly profitted. Metropolitan Metal Window's John Sangiuliano of Scotch Plains; Starr Contracting's Martin W. Starr of Cliffwood Park; and head of East Commercial Construction and Tara Construction, Stephen M. Gallagher of Cliffwood Park are alleged to have often worked as a collective in defrauding districts, Dow said in a release. Westfield's Business Administrator, Robert Berman, was also charged for his alleged role in accepting $13,000 in windows at his home in exchange for recommending the Metropolitan Windows.

Ridgewood's Assistant Superintendent of Business Angelo DeSimone said Wednesday that none of the three contractors performed any work for the district as part of the referendum.

At the board of education's public meeting Monday, Superintendent Dr. Daniel Fishbein read a letter in which Mike Disko Sr., stated Ken Disko is no longer employed at the firm and hoped the relationship between Disko and Ridgewood could continue.

"We are not aware of any continuing investigation of this firm or any of its employees," the letter read. Disko called Ridgewood one of its 'most valued clients' over the past 30 years and expressed hope that the district would stick by it under the supervision of Mike Disko Jr.

Fishbein explained that the allegations against Ken Disko were for no-bid contracts, something the district doesn't do with M Disko Associates.

"Our projects with this firm are either bidded projects or through the Middlesex Commission through a cooperative purchasing agreement, so we do not have any projects that are non-bid projects with this firm," Fishbein said.

The superintendent recommended Disko finish the work for the bond referendum, which will continue through 2011, before deciding to "revisit our working relationship once the project is over." Fishbein said there are no upcoming scheduled projects with Disko outside the referendum.

Board member Charles Reilly said Monday night that the district should keep a close watch on the situation.

"We should establish procedures to protect ourselves moving forward," Reilly said. "But at this point no information suggests that we are involved as being a victim of either collusion or kickbacks."

[Editor's note: M Disko is not the architect of record in Ridgewood and the story has been updated to reflect that. LAN Architects do the majority of rederendum work]