Connected Lobbyists?
- It's one of City Hall's busiest woman- and minority-owned contractors. And, for the last two years, Azteca Supply Co. has been the target of a federal investigation that led to charges last month that the company is a sham "front" that fraudulently was awarded millions of dollars in government contracts.
This is the story of a Hispanic woman who found she could make millions by selling goods to government agencies eager to do business with women and minorities -- and did so with the help of some of Chicago's most well-connected Hispanic leaders, including a former chief of staff to Mayor Daley.
But there was one problem: Federal authorities say Aurora Valadez Venegas lied to the city to obtain certification as a woman- and minority-owned business so she could get government contracts set aside for women and minorities.
This is a massive part of the high cost of doing business with the City of Chicago and it's all played out in the open. Say you need something for the your department - a box of paper, a length of chain, a pipe, a widget. You can't just go to Staples or Office Max or Home Depot or WalMart or any on-line site and do a little price comparison before buying what your department needs. You have to go through a vendor. And certain things are only sold by connected vendors, many of which are so-called "set asides."
But this "set aside" company isn't anything special. In most cases, this company simply goes to Staples or Office Max or Home Depot or WalMart or any on-line site and buys the exact same thing you could have gotten. He (or she) just adds in their mark-up charge to the cost of doing business. Voila! Minority contract!
And in almost ever case, these "companies" aren't warehouses, storing whatever material you need that you can get at a moment's notice. They are storefront offices with an answering service. You can find lists of approved vendors and contractors on line and when you look up their addresses, they are in some of the most unlikely places, many times in buildings owned by connected people.
It's all connected.
But this "set aside" company isn't anything special. In most cases, this company simply goes to Staples or Office Max or Home Depot or WalMart or any on-line site and buys the exact same thing you could have gotten. He (or she) just adds in their mark-up charge to the cost of doing business. Voila! Minority contract!
And in almost ever case, these "companies" aren't warehouses, storing whatever material you need that you can get at a moment's notice. They are storefront offices with an answering service. You can find lists of approved vendors and contractors on line and when you look up their addresses, they are in some of the most unlikely places, many times in buildings owned by connected people.
It's all connected.
Labels: corruption
posted by SCC at 12:02 AM
27 Comments:
But remember, at 31 minutes on your unpaid lunch break your stealing money from the city, you thief.
Geri Chico, the person who helped this person become a contractor is the ultimate public insider. This Guy is the most inept public figure in city politics.
When he was CEO of the public schools he rode Paul vallas s coattails for all the Work vallas did helping improve the schools.
When he went to the private sector and became managing partner of a prestigious law firm he did a good job managing to get that firm into bankruptcy.
He formed his own law firm and currently gets business from firms doing business with the state and city of course. God's forbid his firm might dig up private sector work on there own
investigate napa, they are the worst.
These scams have been going on for over 20 years. Does the black guy still have the deicer contract for Ohare? City that works, no city that steals.
you have no idea how bad this really is....
I used to see Azteca contractor supply while driving home from work. It was on Ogden Ave between Pulaski and cicero on the northside of the street. It was in the news about 7-8 years ago for something. It was in a really old, falling apart building, with an office on the first floor and maybe an apartment upstairs.
I remember thinking back then "who would do business with such an eyesore of company?"..the city of Chicago..that's who!
2011 a new mayor will be elected
the corruption must end
j fed for mayor than he can appoint command staff for cpd
Maybe Daley should "enter the real world" and go to jail! The old "I was unaware of this" has had it! Is there no one to stand up and say "there is no one that stupid" to run a city for this many years and still not know who's stealing every year?
You're 100% right-on SCC.
This is not any secret info that you pass on here, it's an EVERYDAY ACCEPTED PRACTICE.
It's NOT just limited to city hall type expenditures. The Police Dept. operates the same way. While I can't give you my exact example and front off my experience/source... a simple, worthwhile purchase for the CPD was turned down in its entirety as (financially) unacceptable as too costly.
But the kicker was some alleged minority contractor (OK'd by the city) that had a 12 x 20 office space, had catalogs from real companies that they used. Not only did they charge 'full-retail' (vendors get it for the wholesale price from the suppliers) they added on 'another' 10-20% to the cost.
Like you said it would be cheaper going to any store and buy it over the counter.
They disguise it as minority set-aside but we see all the abuse and favoritism that's in play.
PLEASE, Pat Fitzgerald GET ON IT!
The same pass through system existed under Harold Washington. It is a way to give minorities who are connected and who do not have any manufacturing facilities contracts. It is not about the taxpayers, but about making those who are connected a lot of money, some of which Iam sure is kicked back
Yawn. This is the way biz is done in Chicago, the corrupt way. It won't stop until the Feds grow real balls and clammer to the top of the heap, 5th fl, City Hall.
Vote out the democrat rats, they are ruining America.
...IT'S ALL LEGIT...
We order safety gear that we need to keep us alive.
We get most of our gear from FEDERAL GRANTS b/c the City does not want to s[pend any money on us. Heck why waste their money to protect their city when the Feds will pony up?
After fightin off the city from stealing the provided grant funds, we order some equipment that costs 25-30K each from manufacturer.
Along comes vendor, merely picks up phone and confirms our order, but now the price is 35 - 40K each.
THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS, THEY TACK ON THAT EXTRA MONEY FOR THEIR 'WORK' THAT THE CITY SAYS WE 'NEED' IN ORDER TO COMPLY WITH MINORITY VENDOR PROGRAM.
Stop laughing...
Here's the best part...
WE WAIT OVER TWO YEARS TO GET THE EQUIPMENT! AND THE FEDS ARE WONDERING WHY WE HAVEN'T SPENT THE MONEY YET.
GOTTA LOVE THIS CITY! IT'S BETTER THAN FICTION!
I remember once seeing a bid package. A friend worked for a plant nursery, and they wanted to bid to provide potted flowers of the sort they put on a stage when Shortshanks speaks to his adoring public. It was a few hundred dollars worth of potted flowers.
The package was an inch thick. The nursery owner was going to have to document and certify that he hadn't engaged in the slave trade, that his hiring practices were such and such, that he had paid all his parking tickets and water bills and on and on and on.
And all these certifications came with all sorts of dire-sounding penalties. The owner's response was: "I'm not going to hire a lawyer just to bid on a few h undred bucks wirth of business."
The whole thing simply scared him off. They didn't submit a bid. In all likelyhood, the bid went to someone who was already inside and had done all the paperwork. And I bet the City paid through the nose to probably one bidder.
These minority set-aside contracts are blatant fleecing of the taxpayer. It should be outlawed. You need absolute transparancy when bidding for a government contract and it shouldn't matter what color you are, gender, etc. Anyone with government influence should be prosecuted who puts their nose into it. Oh yea, and Daley want to cut back on teachers and everyone take mandatory furlough days because of the budget crises. GFY.
Read all about it here. This is where at least the police dept. gets their stuff. Nuff said.
http://www.staplesadvantage.com
/solutions/diversity-program.html
This post is so rich. Anybody with time on their hands or newspapers to sell: this is the vein to tap. Go to any City budget and you'll find this kind of theft.
For any Feds monitoring this site: look at your grant money! The City 'leaders' are stealing a huge chunk of your grants using this method. Next time you audit your grant money, peel off one more layer and this is what you will find.
What concerns me is that it looks like it doesn't concern you.
Several years ago Trek offered to supply the police department with FREE bikes, the city higher ups said no they have to come from a minority owner. The city now buys it's bike with a 200% mark up of the retail from this minority owned business. (who has poor customer service also).
Virginia Reyes(Victors sister) owns a plumbing company that has Chicago contracts, she pays plumbers that are on her payroll to install water meters for the city, the thing is the plumbers are not employed by her, but by another contractor,all Virginia does is pay them and she gets reimbursed with a nice markup, also she is the minority participant for the O'Hare in house plumbers (private contractors) when they need plumbing material or plumbing fixtures they call Virginia and tell her what they need and she orders the stuff, pays for it and gets reimbursed with a comfortable markup
I have family that are/have been teachers, and the waste they say is out of control. Warehouses FULL of books that have never been opened that are a year old, because some contract says that new books have to be purchased every year, and the old ones have to be destroyed or stored (not liquidated even!). Desks, pens, paper..you name it. Bought in huge quantities, pilfered, then put someplace until it "goes away."
@ 3/23/2010 09:49:00 AM
The asinine requirements of the bid package serves to eliminate ligitimate vendors. Just like hiring, the fix is in before the bid package is even printed.
The legitimate vendor never gets a shot. The business ALWAYS goes to someone connected who hasn't paid there taxes, water, electric, phone bills.
It's the Chicago democrat way.
Buck Naked
(not a cop)
Well you all should see how much of our budget is wasted by satisfying these set aside minority contracts, we would be able to save tons of money and keep lots of city workers working without taking furlo days, The fees that are charged are outragous, The police dept. has to buy from minority firms that charge way too much, ask to see how much the city pays for a roll of toilet paper or paper towels, you ocan get them at wal mart for 40 percent less, why do we have this minority crap rammed down our throats,most of these businesses don't last long, they make tons of money and then split out. But daleys' boys get their end and so does he.
Minority contracts! Yet they are all white Males using others giving them a kickback.
These minority set-aside contracts are blatant fleecing of the taxpayer. It should be outlawed. You need absolute transparancy when bidding for a government contract and it shouldn't matter what color you are, gender,
You don't get it The white owned companies are using Minority's who are willing to take a kickback for using their names. The real Minority businesses (women) never get the bid because the fix is in.
2011 a new mayor will be elected
the corruption must end
j fed for mayor than he can appoint command staff for cpd
3/23/2010 08:12:00 AM
Not a bad idea and what a kick in the ass to DALEY. We could rid ourselves of J-Fed and Daley all at once!
DUMP DALEY!!!
Anonymous said...
I have family that are/have been teachers, and the waste they say is out of control. Warehouses FULL of books that have never been opened that are a year old, because some contract says that new books have to be purchased every year, and the old ones have to be destroyed or stored (not liquidated even!). Desks, pens, paper..you name it. Bought in huge quantities, pilfered, then put someplace until it "goes away."
3/23/2010 02:15:00 PM
I remember when they appointed Phil Jackson as supt of shit cps,he is now director of the black star project,daley booted him out when he found warehouses full of new desks,cars,computers etc... and much more brand new items worth millions covered in dust daley booyed him out fast for exposing the corruption why Fitz can you not lock up the crooked son of a bitch richie? WHY?
Anonymous said...
Virginia Reyes(Victors sister) owns a plumbing company that has Chicago contracts, she pays plumbers that are on her payroll to install water meters for the city, the thing is the plumbers are not employed by her, but by another contractor,all Virginia does is pay them and she gets reimbursed with a nice markup, also she is the minority participant for the O'Hare in house plumbers (private contractors) when they need plumbing material or plumbing fixtures they call Virginia and tell her what they need and she orders the stuff, pays for it and gets reimbursed with a comfortable markup
3/23/2010 11:57:00 AM
HMM! Strangely victors former gofer rosie andolino is heading the airports making over 260K per year,maybe "quiet vic" is telling her silence will make her rich!
Anonymous said...
These minority set-aside contracts are blatant fleecing of the taxpayer. It should be outlawed. You need absolute transparancy when bidding for a government contract and it shouldn't matter what color you are, gender,
You don't get it The white owned companies are using Minority's who are willing to take a kickback for using their names. The real Minority businesses (women) never get the bid because the fix is in.
3/23/2010 09:20:00 PM
No shit in some cases... I think that poster got it... the point they are all scaming someway and marking up everything when we should be trying to save tax payers money.
Post a Comment
<< Home