Summary

Steve Salke, owner and president of Aztec Landscape Engineering, in Woodland Hills, CA, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, in Los Angeles, CA, to making false statements on certified payrolls for Federally funded highway projects, in violation of the Davis-Bacon Act. Salke, who was awarded Federal highway landscaping contracts in California worth more than $2 million, was required under the act to pay his employees the prevailing wage, as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor. Salke paid his employees the correct amount by check, but then demanded they return two-thirds of their wages to him. Salke signed and sent certified payrolls to the State of California DOT certifying that he paid his employees at the prevailing wage rate. Sentencing for Salke is scheduled for June 12, 2002. OIG investigated this case with the Department of Labor OIG and the FBI.