Engineering Group Indicted in Alleged Campaign Donation Scheme

An engineering firm which West Orange has awarded several no-bid contracts over the last few years has been indicted on charges accusing them of violating state pay-to-play laws.

Birdsall Services Group, with a host of contracts at municipalities throughout New Jersey, is accused of skirting the state's pay-to-play laws by reimbursing its employees for their personal, unreportable political contributions, according to a release from the state Attorney General's Office.

In the alleged scheme, instead of the company making corporate political contributions to campaigns and political organizations that would disqualify it from public contracts awarded by certain government agencies, shareholders and employees of the firm allegedly made personal political contributions of $300 or less, which are deemed unreportable.

Under state law, personal political contributions under $300 do not have to be reported to the state Election Law Enforcement Commission.

In a statement, Birdsall criticized the indictments.

"We find it regrettable that the state has made this decision after the company has voluntarily made sweeping changes to its leadership and internal processes over the past 10 months to ensure that such actions could never occur again," spokesman Joe Orlando said. "Birdsall Services Group will continue to serve its many clients in full compliance with the new standards it implemented along with its long history of professional competence."

Since 2006, West Orange has contracted Birdsall Services Group or its subsidiary PMK Group, of Cranford, eight contracts — seven of which were awarded without seeking bids from other vendors.

The township is permitted to award contracts to vendors without competitive bidding under state statute when they are professional service contracts.

The only West Orange politician who has received donations from Birdsall was former West Orange mayor and current state Assemblyman John McKeon (D-27), who received a $700 donation in October 2009, according to the the state’s ELEC database.

In December of 2012, the administration removed a resolution from the Township Committee's agenda which awarded Birdsall a non-competitive $316,270 contract.

The mayor's office declined to comment on the story.  

Birdsall had more than $28 million worth of contracts and business last year with public entities throughout the state — ranging from the municipal to the state levels.

On May 2, 2012,  the state attorney general began investigating Birdsall Services Group and seized files and computer equipment at its Eatontown and Wall Township offices.

The seven face a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison, and the money laundering counts also carry fines and penalties of up to $1 million, officials said. 

The company's formed CEO and six executives have been indicted:

• Howard C. Birdsall, 69, of Brielle, the largest shareholder of Birdsall
• Thomas Rospos, 61, of Belmar, a former Executive Vice President of Birdsall
• William Birdsall, 64, of Manchester, Senior Vice President and is a significant shareholder of the firm. 
• Alan Hilla Sr., 73, of Brielle, Executive Vice President for Business Development for Birdsall and a significant shareholder.
• Scott MacFadden, 58, of Brick, Chief Administrative Officer of Birdsall. 
• James Johnston, 51, of North Brunswick, President of the Environmental Consulting Division of Birdsall and a significant shareholder.
• Robert Gerard, 52, of Wall, former Chief Marketing Officer of Birdsall and was formerly a significant shareholder. 

Additionally, two former employees of Birdsall Services Group previously pleaded guilty in the scheme, officials said.