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WILLIAM QUATMAN, from page 5

TZL: When you’re not working, what types of activities do you enjoy? KH: I enjoy working out and spending time with my friends and family. “I take pride in working with our team to find solutions to the challenges that our clients and business face.” Th e architect testified that although he never reported the payments on his tax returns, they did not influence his handling of the project in any way. Th e court said: “ Th is would make [the architect] a participant, if a minor one, in the conspiracy to avoid reporting income and paying taxes,” although it does not appear he was criminally charged for taking kick-backs. “Get the word out to your project managers and firm executives that no form of illegal conduct will be tolerated by your company and will be grounds for immediate termination.” RACKETEERING LAWS. Th e Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act was enacted in 1970 to curb organized crime. However, the law is broad enough to impose civil liability on others who have no ties to organized crime. “Racketeering activity” includes specific acts covered by federal criminal statutes, including mail fraud and wire fraud. Th ose who engaged in criminal schemes which use the mail, email, interstate fax, or telephone can be liable under RICO. In one such case, an engineering firm and its senior partner and principal owner who carried on a 12- year scheme of corrupt and illegal activities in a three-state region on a number of major sewer construction projects were convicted of extorting money from contractors under their control and fraudulently overstating payment claims, as well as bribing public o ffi cials. Th e firm’s principal was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $85,000. BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! Companies have been fined and design professionals have gone to jail for bribery, conspiracy, and kick-backs. Get the word out to your project managers and firm executives that no form of illegal conduct will be toler- ated by your company and will be grounds for immediate termination. Th e risks and penalties are just too severe to treat this subject any less serious. G. WILLIAM QUATMAN is an architect and general counsel at Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co. Contact him at bquatman@burnsmcd. com.

In an older 1958 case, seven defendants were charged with conspiracy to defraud the government on a military project for the Corps of Engineers. One of the partners of the A/E firm was personally charged with accepting a $10,000 bribe from the contractor. Th e court said, “ Th e clear purpose of the statute is to protect the public from the consequences of corruption in the public service.” In 1975, 18 architects and engineers were charged with bribing a public employee to award an architectural contract for work on a state medical center campus in Kansas City. More recently, in late August 2016, the Department of Justice settled with a large A/E firm to resolve bribery charges involving a former firm executive and an ex-Department of Veterans’ A ff airs manager. Th e A/E firm agreed to pay $12 million in penalties. Th e VA manager was sentenced to nearly five years in prison and a former 55-year old associate principal of the A/E firm was sentenced to nearly three years for making more than a dozen cash payments in exchange for exclusive information about VA projects, contracts, and business. KICK-BACKS. In a 1997 case, an architect was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay restitution for con- spiring with an asbestos abatement subcontractor to over- bill for work that was not performed on a school district project. Th e federal government then sued the architect under the False Claims Act, recovering triple damage for the kick-backs of more than $480,000, plus $20,000 in penalties. In a 2005 case, a contractor was convicted of tax fraud. Evidence in the case showed that on three occa- sions, the contractor gave the project architect envelopes containing $5,000 in cash bribes to secure contracts and bonuses for the construction company. use the mail, email, interstate fax, or telephone can be liable under RICO.” “‘Racketeering activity’ includes specific acts covered by federal criminal statutes, including mail fraud and wire fraud. Those who engaged in criminal schemes which

Q&A, from page 7

KH: I enjoy old movies. One of my favorite movies is Sa- brina , the original with Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hep- burn. TZL: What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received? KH: “Don’t walk around with a chip on your shoulder.” One of my first supervisors out of college told me that and it has always stayed with me. TZL: Is there a leader you admire? Why? KH: Mary Barra. She was appointed to a di ffi cult position as CEO of General Motors having to face Congress to respond to situations she did not create, and has handled the posi- tion with confidence and dignity.

TZL: Favorite lunch?

KH: One of my favorite lunches is tabbouleh (a Middle Eastern salad). I also really enjoy potatoes − all kind. Baked, mashed, fried, you name it.

THE ZWEIG LETTER January 9, 2017, ISSUE 1182 30, 2017, I SUE 185

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