MA Company To Pay $1.5 Million In RI Route 6/10 Project Fines

PROVIDENCE, RI — The Department of Justice has ordered the construction company responsible for rebuilding the Route 6-10 connector in Providence to pay $1.5 million in fines to resolve a court case related to the use of contaminated supplies during the project.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Rhode Island announced Wednesday that they'd resolved the case against Barletta Heavy Division, Inc., which included a "criminal plea, a civil resolution that will recover more than twice the amount paid by the government as a result of the conduct, and a non-prosecution agreement with the construction firm."

The Massachusetts-based company agreed to pay a $500,000 fine and will return $1 million to the state.

Dennis Ferreira, the former superintendent of the project, will plead guilty in federal court to charges of making false statements.

According to the Attorney's Office, the charges stem from Ferreira’s decision to import railroad ballast (loose stone) from a Barletta project site in Massachusetts, and soil from the Pawtucket/Central Falls Rail Station and Bus Hub Project, a separate Barletta job site in Rhode Island, to the 6/10 Project to be used as fill.

Court documents highlight three instances specifically as the three counts he's charged with:

• In July of 2020, Ferreira caused an environmental report to be sent to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) that falsely represented the origin and environmental quality of the stone imported from Massachusetts.
• In September of 2020, during meetings with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and RIDOT officials, Ferreira falsely represented the origin and environmental quality of the imported stone and falsely stated that none of the material imported from Pawtucket was used on the Project.
• Ferreira allegedly caused a letter to be sent to RIDOT officials which falsely stated that the stone imported from Massachusetts had been tested prior to being brought to Rhode Island.

Barletta entered a non-prosecution agreement in connection with the series of false statements that were made in the summer of 2020 to FHWA and RIDOT Officials, officials said. The statements were meant to "conceal the fact that Barletta had imported regulated material in violation of a Soil and Materials Management Plan, which was part of the contract governing the 6/10 Project."

The company will implement ongoing monitoring, reporting, and compliance measures for a period of three years as part of the deal. Failure to comply with the conditions will make the company subject to prosecution.

According to the Providence Journal, the soil was deemed to be unacceptable after workers complained, and members of Local 57 of the International Union of Operating Engineers, who were working at the site, tested soil samples.

Union representatives notified the state that toxins were present in the samples, resulting in the state ordering the fill removed.

“When federal tax dollars fund work in our communities, we expect that the government will get what it bargains for,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha. “In this case, that didn’t happen. Today’s resolution should serve as a reminder to any company or corporate official that, when the government is footing the bill, false statements have consequences.”