{"id":29030,"date":"2025-02-11T12:23:34","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T20:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/former-asphalt-paving-exec-pleads-guilty-to-antitrust-violations\/"},"modified":"2025-02-11T12:23:34","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T20:23:34","slug":"former-asphalt-paving-exec-pleads-guilty-to-antitrust-violations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/former-asphalt-paving-exec-pleads-guilty-to-antitrust-violations\/","title":{"rendered":"Former asphalt paving exec pleads guilty to antitrust violations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech\">\n    <button class=\"text-to-speech__button button\"><\/p>\n<p>            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"text-to-speech__button__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/static\/images\/audio_icon.svg?482016190122\" alt=\"-\"><\/p>\n<p>        Listen to the article<br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-to-speech__button__audio-length\">3 min<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls\">\n        <audio controls=\"\" class=\"js-text-to-speech\" preload=\"none\"><source src=\"http:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dmgi9movl\/video\/upload\/q_1\/v1738948376\/news\/text_to_speech\/asphalt-paving-guilty-antitrust-michigan_c3men0.wav\" type=\"audio\/mp3\"><\/source><\/audio><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls__text\">\n            This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\">feedback<\/a>.\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><strong><span><span>Dive Brief:<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>The former president of a Michigan asphalt paving firm has pleaded guilty for his role in a <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/former-president-asphalt-paving-company-pleads-guilty-bid-rigging-0\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>bid-rigging scheme for asphalt paving<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> contracts in the state, according to a news release last month from the U.S. Department of Justice.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Timothy Baugher, former president of Pontiac, Michigan-based Asphalt Specialists, also known as ASI, conspired with Clarkston, Michigan-based F. Allied Construction, along with employees at the enterprises, to rig bids in each other\u2019s favors, <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/atr\/media\/1384991\/dl?inline\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>according to the plea agreement<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Under the terms of the conspiracy, the co-conspirators coordinated each other\u2019s bid prices so that the agreed-upon losing company would submit intentionally non-competitive bids, per the release. Baugher participated in the scheme from July 2017 through May 2021, according to the DOJ.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><strong><span><span>Dive Insight:<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Baugher\u2019s guilty plea is the tenth in the Justice Department Antitrust Division\u2019s ongoing investigation into collusion in the Michigan asphalt paving industry, according to the release.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>ASI and another former ASI executive also pleaded guilty for their participation in the conspiracy with Allied in January 2024. Allied Construction and two of its executives previously pleaded guilty in August 2023 for their participation in the conspiracy.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>As part of the deal, Baugher pleaded guilty to one count of violating Section 1 of <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/advice-guidance\/competition-guidance\/guide-antitrust-laws\/antitrust-laws\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>the Sherman Act<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, established in 1890 as a key piece of antitrust legislation in the U.S. He faces a maximum 10-year prison term and $1 million criminal fine, per the release.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>A sentencing hearing will be scheduled for a later date, according to the DOJ.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cFair and open marketplace competition is essential in providing consumers and taxpayers the integrity expected in procuring contracts funded with public dollars,\u201d said Anthony Licari, special agent in charge from the DOT\u2019s Office of Inspector General, Midwestern region, the release said.\u00a0\u201cCorporate executives who collude to fixing prices and rigging bids will be held accountable.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>An ASI spokesperson told Construction Dive that the company\u2019s founders no longer control the company and have no operational role. The firm said it has invested in a variety of backstops that include a new CEO, CFO, general counsel and chief compliance officer, alongside more stringent bidding integrity processes and associated trainings, a strengthened legal reporting structure and more rigorous compliance policies.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cASI today is not the company it was when these practices occurred, and they are inconsistent with our core values,\u201d the firm said in its statement. \u201cASI is committed to moving forward with a clear focus on serving our customers and doing well by doing right.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Timothy Baugher and his lawyer did not respond to Construction Dive\u2019s requests for comment. F. Allied Construction declined to comment.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/asphalt-paving-guilty-antitrust-michigan\/739530\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">This article was originally posted at Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Listen to the article 3 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dive &#8230; <a title=\"Former asphalt paving exec pleads guilty to antitrust violations\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/former-asphalt-paving-exec-pleads-guilty-to-antitrust-violations\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Former asphalt paving exec pleads guilty to antitrust violations\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[457],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-dive","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29030\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}