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A little agenda item for executive session discussion in this week’s Charles River Pollution Control District, isn’t so little. In fact, the state and maybe a dozen or more public sector entities within the Commonwealth, including Franklin, are parties to a lawsuit that appears to be still working its way through the court system
Commonwealth of Massachusetts (et al) v. Tresca Brothers Concrete, Sand, and Gravel, Inc. of Millis, is described in court documents as an effort to recover treble damages and civil penalties under the Massachusetts False Claims Act, arising from (alleged) false claims made by defendant Tresca
Brothers Sand and Gravel, Inc. (“Tresca Brothers”), in connection with work performed
for the Commonwealth and the Cities and Towns.
Some of the key points outlined in the documents are allegations that drivers delivering concrete for Tresca, were routinely instructed to never report that it had taken longer than 45 minutes to reach the customer. [ASTM C94, “Standard Specification for Ready-Mixed Concrete,” allows for 90 minutes until discharge, but the implication made is that deliveries may have regularly exceeded standards, or at least not been reported accurately.]
Similarly, the complaint alleges that water content of concrete batches was also deliberately misreported.
All of these issues could have impacts on the durability of the concrete, of course.
The document also noted: Tresca Brothers...understood the illegality of
under-reporting the age of the concrete, because of the widely publicized convictions in
2009 of four managers of Aggregate Industries for under-reporting the age of ready mix
concrete used on the Big Dig, and the payment by Aggregate Industries of a $50 million
fine for falsely reporting the age of ready-mix concrete used on the Big Dig.”
No further word from the town, as of yet, regarding this matter or whether there have been any problems as a result.
It is not clear whether CRPCD is a party to the lawsuit.
Separately, WBZ TV and the state investigated complaints from neighbors of the company earlier this year regarding quantities of dust escaping from the property.
