Investigations

Edward Pannutti, a plant supervisor for Hardrives Paving & Construction, Inc., Youngstown, OH, was ordered by a U.S. District Court judge in Cleveland to pay $18,832 in restitution and put on probation for 1 year. Pannutti mailed a number of invoices containing false information about the quality and quantity of asphalt provided for Mahoning County (OH) highway work. Between 1993 and 1999, Hardrives’s owner and various employees engaged in racketeering, including bribery and mail fraud. Several public officials were paid bribes so Hardrives could win asphalt paving contracts and continue the practice of submitting fraudulent invoices for asphalt that was never applied. OIG investigated the case with the FBI and the Department of Labor OIG.