Alleged Contract Fraud: Sheriff Investigating Oswego Township Highway Department

The Kendall County Sheriff's Department is investigating alleged contract fraud by the Oswego Township Highway Department, according to spokeswoman Nancy Velez.

State law requires that contracts greater than $20,000 be open to competitive bidding. The Sheriff's Department is investigating allegations that large projects were split into several contracts strung together.

"It is a complex investigation and it requires a thorough and comprehensive examination of document and interviews," Sheriff Dwight Baird told WSPY.

The ongoing investigation was a result of a complaint filed by local activists who said they reviewed years of public records. Activists Jan Alexander and Leah Philpot noticed that several contracts from 2014 for concrete work in Boulder Hill were just under the legal limit.

Invoices for concrete work by Majey Concrete for Oswego Township (provided by Todd Milliron)

The complaint, submitted by Todd Milliron and Leonard Wass, alleged that three constracts for work performed by Majey Concrete "could have been a single concrete replacement construction work contract for well over $64,000 into four separate contracts."

“It’s an effort to avoid putting the project out to bid. It’s like buying a car, you don’t just go in a write a check. You shop around," Jan Alexander said. She estimates that the township could have saved 50 percent on the contracts if there had been competitive bidding.

The activists also claim that invoices were back-dated and forward-dated to avoid the bidding requirement.

The complaint also raises questions about tree care services. One invoice for tree work was for $20,000, "just one cent below the mandated Public Bid threshold."

Ruben Hernandez, the owner of Majey Concrete, said that he spoke with a detective about his work for Oswego Township. In a phone interview with Patch, Hernandez denied any wrongdoing.

“They hired me to do a job. I did the job and I move on,” Hernandez said. “How they do the paperwork…that’s none of my concern.”

The Oswego Township Highway Commissioner is Gary Grosskopf. In 2015, he apologized after the public learned that he was living in Florida while still collecting his nearly $96,000 a year salary. The Sheriff's department cleared Grosskopf of any illegal activity.

Patch contacted contacted Aaron Grosskopf, the Oswego Township Road District Operations Manager and son of Gary Grosskopf. The younger Grosskopf declined to comment on the issue. He is running for Oswego Township Highway Commissioner in the April 4 election.

Jan Alexander and Leah Philpot are running for the Oswego Township Board of Trustees. Alexander said her involvement with this complaint inspired her run for officer.

“I got so disgusted with what was going on that I had to throw my hat into the ring," Alexander said. She said the Oswego Township Board of Trustees would get the contracts for thousands of dollars of just before meetings and did little to provide review or oversight.

“They always rubber stamp what the highway commission has done,” the 68-year-old retired union chairwoman from Oswego said. “It’s really upsetting...They should have asked questions they should have been critical, but instead they just got out the rubber stamps.”

Patch's call to the Oswego Township supervisor was not immediately returned.

No charges have been filed in relation to the allegations of contract stringing, and the Sheriff's Department is continuing to investigate the matter.

Image via Shutterstock