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Two months after officials vowed to reform its minority and female contracting program, the Sports & Exhibition Authority has awarded a new round of construction contracts that send millions of dollars in contracts to firms with questionable credentials.
The authority awarded $68 million in contracts for work on the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Monday, of which $16.2 million is going to minority- and woman-owned companies whose certifications are questionable or nonexistent.
The authority, which is overseeing the convention center and stadium projects, awarded ADF International Inc. of Coral Springs, Fla., a $41.3 million contract for installing steel; Birdair Inc. of Baltimore a $15.2 million roofing contract; and Pittsburgh's Ionadi Corp. a $11.5 million pact to lay foundation concrete on the new $328 million building.
Those firms, in accordance with the authority's goal of 25 percent minority and 10 percent female participation on the projects, have chosen subcontractors that include five firms with questionable certification.
* CAPCO Inc. of McKeesport will receive $6.2 million of ADF's steel work; Ida Yeager Sales of Zelienople will receive $4.1 million in steel-related work from ADF; and Greenwood Enterprises of Carnegie, owned by former Steeler L.C. Greenwood, was listed as receiving $1 million of Ionadi's steel work. The firms are certified by Allegheny County as minority or female enterprises, but not as steel suppliers.
*Diversified Commodities Inc. of Carnegie, owned by former Steeler Craig Bingham, will supply $1.5 million in concrete to Ionadi for the convention center floor. While it is certified as a minority concrete supplier with Allegheny County, it does not own a production plant or trucks and has only a small warehouse.
* SGS Group of Pittsburgh, owned by former University of Pittsburgh basketball players Curtis Aiken and Jason Matthews, will receive $3.4 million to supply steel and cable materials for Birdair. It is certified to supply steel but has no capacity to handle big steel in its Point Breeze warehouse or in its offices on Smithfield Street, Downtown.
Greg Yesko, a Sports & Exhibition Authority spokesman, acknowledged the questionable nature of the subcontracts and said a consultant is being paid $18,000 to examine the minority and female participation program.
State Rep. Don Walko was angry about the latest contract awards, which...