Police end probe of school projects contractor

Thursday, Oct. 19, 2000 | 11:36 a.m.

Metro Police have dropped a criminal investigation into charges that a local drywall installation company, Jetstream Inc., required kickbacks from Hispanic employees working on public projects.

However, complaints from several former company workers have been forwarded to the federal Labor Department for further action, Deputy Chief Raymond Flynn said Wednesday.

The charges have not been proven, but the company in September paid a $6,300 settlement to six employees who alleged that they were required to pay the kickbacks to company officers to keep their jobs. That settlement and Contractors Union pressure prompted the Clark County School Board to disqualify the company from working on school projects.

The settlement specified that the company admitted no wrongdoing.

Flynn said seven of the 11 employees who were willing to testify had settled with the company in civil court, one person's complaint was beyond the statute of limitations and the three remaining cases were forwarded to the Labor Department.

Such civil settlements often prohibit complainants from testifying further.

The settlements make it "very difficult for the district attorney to take it to prosecution," he said.

The Labor Department as a policy does not confirm or deny investigations, but an official speaking on condition of anonymity said the federal agency continues to take an active interest in the case.

Michael Slater, executive director of the Interfaith Council for Worker Justice, a Las Vegas worker-advocacy organization, said the local law enforcement decision is "disappointing."

"We are very frustrated that people are not looking very hard for a solution," he said. "There's some reluctance to make this an issue."

Slater said he has spoken with Labor Department officials, who are concerned that they could have a conflict of interest because of the immigration status of the workers. At least some of the Jetstream workers were undocumented immigrants, a status that law enforcement officials say makes it more likely that they will be exploited.

While local police don't enforce federal immigration law, the U.S. Justice Department might have a conflict of interest, Slater said.

"The workers are in a 'Catch-22,' " Slater said. "Local police see it as a federal matter, the federal authorities feel there might be a conflict, so there's no outcome.

"The owners are unrepentant, they continue to deny the charges and continue to bid on public projects," he said.

The settlements gave the workers only what they should have been paid in the first place, Slater said. He compared it to a thief who is forced to give back his loot but is free to steal again.

Attorneys for Jetstream could not be reached for comment this morning. Keith Gregory, the company's lead attorney on the allegations, has said that the charges are without foundation and are the result of political pressure by the union against the nonunion shop.

On Oct. 6 Jetstream President John Dombroski, company president, said company employees were questioned after the allegation became public in February. All of the employees denied that any principal of the company had ever asked for kickbacks or that they were asked to reimburse part of their paychecks.

"At no time has any agency made a finding to support the allegations of kickbacks," Dombroski said. The settlement with the workers, brokered by the Nevada Labor Commissioner, "was based solely upon economics and not an admission of liability."

The company intends to appeal a court ruling that upheld the Clark County School Board's decision to bar the company from school construction work, he said.