Summary

In one of the largest fraud cases in Wisconsin, two road construction companies and four executives were indicted by a Federal grand jury in Milwaukee for conspiring to rig bids on $100 million worth of state highway and airport construction projects funded by DOT. Those indicted in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee were charged with rigging bids from about 1997 until January 13, 2004 and included: Streu Construction Company of Two Rivers; Vinton Construction Company of Manitowoc; Ernest J. Streu of Green Bay, president of Streu Construction; John Streu of Two Rivers, secretary/treasurer of Streu Construction; James J. Maples of Manitowoc, president of Vinton Construction; and Michael J. Maples of Manitowoc, vice president of Vinton Construction.
The conspirators allegedly allocated the construction projects among themselves, designating which company would submit the lowest bid for a project. Ernest and John Streu and James and Michael Maples were arrested on January 13. This is an ongoing investigation being jointly conducted by the FBI, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and OIG.

Note: Indictments, informations, and criminal complaints are only accusations by the government, all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.