The largest female-owned subcontractor on Mayor Daley’s multibillion-dollar O’Hare Modernization Project was hit with federal charges Thursday that accuse the company of illegally collecting more than $9.5 million in public contracts.
It’s the first indictment in a wide-ranging investigation first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Sources have said the probe includes Ald. Patrick Levar’s brother, Michael, who once oversaw construction contracts at O’Hare.
Michael Levar has not been charged.
Azteca Supply Co. is a certified minority- and woman-owned business, but federal authorities charge that even as it was hired to do contracting work on runway and restroom projects at O’Hare, the company improperly subcontracted work to firms owned by white men.
Azteca president and owner Aurora Venegas, 61, was charged with five counts of mail fraud. Her husband, Thomas Masen, 65, was charged with two counts of mail fraud and one count of making false statements to an FBI agent.
Venegas was allegedly little more than a supplier of materials obtained from National Concrete Pipe Co., where her husband works as a comptroller.
When the FBI served a search warrant on National Concrete Pipe two years ago, the company president, John Esposito, 65, assaulted one of the FBI agents. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.
The investigation, conducted by the FBI, city Inspector General’s Office and U.S. Attorney, found that Azteca fraudulently received more than $9.6 million between 2001 and July 2008, according to charges.
In that time, Azteca was hired to do O’Hare work as well as a $57,168 in landscaping work for a new Metra station in Orland Park.
In 2007, the city awarded a $149.9 million runway contract to Kiewit/Reyes AJV, and Azteca was one of the female-owned subcontractors hired to meet City Hall’s requirements.
Azteca was supposed to provide concrete pipe, but National Concrete Pipe allegedly did the work. Kiewit/Reyes spokesman Kent Grisham said the company was unaware that Azteca was subcontracting the work to a white-owned firm.
“We relied on the city and the city’s certification of Azteca’’ as a female-owned company, Grisham said. “We’ve done nothing wrong. We have cooperated in the investigation.’’
In the Orland Park case, Venegas is accused of acting as a minority “pass-through” for subcontracting work, where Azteca allegedly secured the subcontract but really had another company do the work.
Joseph Duffy, an attorney for Azteca and Venegas, said Thursday he was disappointed with the charges, describing Venegas as a “hardworking and successful minority businesswoman since 1991.”
“The government’s allegation that Ms. Venegas and Azteca are sham minority contractors arose out of claims made by a disgruntled former employee,” Duffy said in a statement.
“These allegations are false, and Ms. Venegas is looking forward to vindication at trial.”
An attorney for Masen could not be reached for comment.
Read the original article from FOX Chicago News.