SunRail Conflict of Interest Contracting Exposed

August 2, 2012 Filed under PRESS RELEASES Posted by admin

ORLANDO, FL – State Senator Gary Siplin (D-Orlando) announced today that he and his staff have uncovered conflict of interest contracting practices by SunRail, the Florida Department of Transportation’s $1 billion commuter rail project currently under construction in Central Florida.

“I have long suspected that there were discriminatory hiring practices with SunRail contracts and subcontracts and I am finally able to prove it without a shadow of a doubt,” said Siplin. “After an extensive public records request made to FDOT approximately eight weeks ago, I have uncovered that for years the SunRail AECOM contract has been used to hand out contracts to friends and family of SunRail management.”

“I’d like to thank the VetoSunRail.com website for making the list of AECOM subcontracts available to the public while FDOT ignored my public records request for copies of all subcontracts under the AECOM contract,” said Siplin. “The first company on the VetoSunRail.com list was Asyst Consulting, Inc., a Winter Park company that was hired by AECOM in 2006 to provide web design services to FDOT.”

“After FDOT sent me a letter that it would ask AECOM to provide me with copies of all subcontracts, I waited weeks for the contracts to arrive at my office,” said Siplin. “However, they never did. I then directed my staff to start at the top of the list and find out whatever they could about each company. My staff discovered that Asyst Consulting is owned by Robert Gurnee, husband of SunRail public liaison Marianne Gurnee, who has had her own lucrative consulting contract with the project for years. Visit www.asystconsulting.com if you’re in doubt.”

“For over five years, Asyst provided FDOT with services that were not competitively bid, denying other qualified firms the ability to compete for the business,” said Siplin. “It seems that SunRail management believes that the taxpayers’ money is their very own piggy bank that can be used to enrich themselves, their family and their friends. This is conflict of interest contracting at its best.”

“Mr. Gurnee didn’t win the work fair and square, he got an insider hookup,” said Siplin. “To make matters worse, I suspect that as the SunRail public liaison, Ms. Gurnee managed her husband’s contract directing work that was done on the website for years.” “My staff recognized Ms. Gurnee’s name from two job fairs that we put together back at the end of May,” said Siplin. “She is the same woman who told me that a person who attended the job fair was not qualified for an advertised position as surveyor on the project, despite the fact that he had over 20 years of experience as a professional surveyor.”

“This isn’t just hurting my community, it’s hurting all of Central Florida because they are giving the business away to friends and family, said Siplin. “If you’re not a connected insider, you won’t get a chance to get a contract and grow your business. They bundle these huge contracts and then pick and choose their friends and tell the little guy, the outsider, the unconnected that there’s no room for them.”

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Siplin. “I am urging the State Attorney and the U.S. Attorney to open an investigation into contracting practices on SunRail and to immediately halt all current and future procurements until a thorough investigation can be conducted because if SunRail management would do something so clearly wrong, they would do anything.”

“I’ve uncovered one example of deceptive contracting practices on SunRail,” said Siplin. “But that’s just one. I’m calling on the media and the Inspector General to investigate this matter and hold FDOT accountable as it seems they have forgotten that they are accountable to the taxpayers of the great State of Florida.”