Federal prosecutors on Friday charged the Big Dig's largest construction contractor with lying about the quality of its work on two areas of Boston’s tunnel system, including the section where a ceiling collapse killed a woman.
The US attorney’s office accused Modern Continental of knowingly using the wrong epoxy to hold up concrete anchors that failed in the 2006 ceiling collapse in the Interstate 90 Connector Tunnel.
It also accused the company of knowing about poor workmanship on slurry walls in the I-93 Tip O’Neill Tunnel before portions of the walls blew out in 2004.
Modern Continental was charged in federal court with making false statements, submitting false time and materials slips on contracts and wire fraud. If convicted, the company faces up to US$24.5 million in fines, as well as restitution payments.
“This is yet another example of the ongoing commitment by the Big Dig Task Force to vigorously investigate those who have perpetrated a fraud on American taxpayers,” US Attorney Michael Sullivan said.
In a statement, Modern Continental called the charges “completely unfounded and without merit.”
The company said the charges were “an attempt after the fact to criminalize actions” that were approved by state officials.
The ceiling collapse in July 2006 killed 39-year-old Milena Del Valle, who was crushed when tonnes of concrete dropped on a car driven by her husband.
The Big Dig is the unofficial name for a massive construction project to move a major highway through Boston underground in order to battle congestion.
The US attorney’s office alleges that the company knew in December 1999 that the epoxy used to secure the ceiling’s concrete anchors wasn’t appropriate for long-term loads, but continued to use it anyway and then certified that work was properly done.
The company also allegedly certified that defective concrete panels in slurry walls in O’Neill tunnel were built to specifications, when it knew they weren’t. A slurry wall blew out in September 2004, causing water to pour into the tunnel and a major traffic problem.
Federal prosecutors also say Modern Continental systematically overbilled the Big Dig in a scheme that totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of