Bid-Rigging Scheme Affects Mobile Radio Purchases
Gatt Communications Inc., a vendor of commercial land mobile radios, has admitted to participating in a bid-rigging scheme that affected New York state and city agencies from 2005 to 2007. Gatt submitted artificially inflated “dummy quotations” to help steer contracts to its co-conspirators when directed to do so by rival and conspirator PMC Associates Inc. When Gatt decided to end its participation in the scheme, its dealer agreement with the manufacturer of the radios (Vertex Standard USA Inc.) was terminated. Gatt sued PMC for the losses it suffered as a result, but its complaint was thrown out earlier this year on the grounds that, as a competitor, it was not the kind of injured party allowed to recover damages under antitrust laws.
Visit the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit website to view the opinion in
Gatt Communications Inc. v. PMC Associates LLC.
Insulation Contractor Sentenced for Role in Rigging Bids to Hospitals
In April, the owner of a Long Island, N.Y., insulation services company was fined $20,000 and given probation after pleading guilty to conspiring to rig bids and allocate contracts for services provided to New York Presbyterian Hospital and Mount Sinai Medical Center. In cooperating with prosecutors, the contractor provided detailed information about how his co-conspirators conferred to decide who would win particular bids and, in some cases, submitted deliberately high bids on each other’s letterhead to create the illusion of competition.
Visit the
U.S. Department of Justice website to view the opinion in
U.S. v. Monosis Inc.