The Massachusetts company accused of illegally dumping contaminated soil during construction of the Route 6/10 Interchange in Providence five years ago says it is the unwitting victim of a scheme involving extortion and bribery orchestrated by a now-defunct competitor.
That’s according to a lawsuit filed March 27 in Providence County Superior Court by Canton-based Barletta Heavy Division Inc., which claims the company was sabotaged and is now no longer able to obtain work in Rhode Island.
Barletta put the blame mainly on Stephen Cardi, the former treasurer of the defunct Cardi Corp., along with International Union of Operating Engineers Local 57 President Jim White. The company claims the two men bribed workers to defame and destroy its reputation, violating state racketeering laws.
“In conspiracy with Cardi, Local 57, upon information and belief, implanted certain loyalists on Barletta job sites to cause chaos, create disruption, and to otherwise sabotage projects and taint Barletta’s reputation as a general contractor,” the lawsuit claims.
Cardi and White did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Barletta is requesting the Superior Court find Cardi and Local 57 liable for trespassing, tortious interference, and violating the state’s racketeering law. The Massachusetts contractor also seeks monetary damages, though the lawsuit does not state how much Barletta has lost out as a result of the alleged conspiracy.
Tortious interference is the legal term for intentionally damaging someone else’s contractual or business relationships with others, causing economic harm.
In January 2023, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha charged Barletta with two counts of illegal disposal of solid waste, one count of operating a solid waste management facility without a license, and one count of providing a false document to a public official.
Contaminated fill from the Boston and the Pawtucket/Central Falls Transit Center was allegedly used in the ongoing $247 million highway project near Providence’s Olneyville neighborhood, according to the AG’s office.
That felony case remains ongoing in Providence Superior Court, where a trial is tentatively set to start June 9.
Barletta’s 6/10 project former superintendent pleaded guilty in federal court in December 2022 to three counts of making a false statement in connection with a federally funded highway project. He was sentenced to one-year probation and ordered to pay a $40,000 fine.
In April 2023, Barletta signed an agreement to be voluntarily excluded from bidding on federally funded projects while criminal charges were pending in court.
Barletta claims it honored its contractual obligations and permit granted from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and that the soil did not contain levels of contamination exceeding the state’s standards.
Complaints over the soil surfaced in the summer of 2020 after workers voiced concerns about excessive dust. A test paid for by Local 57 found toxins at unacceptable levels.
Barletta claims state officials determined the soil posed no threat to public health. DEM spokesperson Kimberly Keough deferred a request for confirmation to the state’s Department of Health, whose spokesperson acknowledged Rhode Island Current’s inquiry
Barletta said such tests were done because White allegedly trespassed to collect soil samples, which were then analyzed under the guise of residential and/or home purposes. The company claims the testing and alleged trespassing was done by White and Cardi to create conflict with Barletta’s contracts and relationships with owners, according to the lawsuit.
Barletta claims the controversy surrounding the 6/10 project harmed its reputation and prevented it from obtaining new work in Rhode Island, including damaging its prospects in rehabilitating the westbound Washington Bridge.
Barletta’s lawsuit claims Cardi had told company leaders that he would instruct Local 57 to make the soil controversy “go away” if it withdrew its bid to renovate the westbound section of Intestate 195 during the initial bid process in 2020.
Cardi Corp. won the contract, but the state put the project back out to bid after the Federal Highway Administration refused to sign off on the agreement. The award was then given to a joint venture between Barletta and Warwick-based Aetna Bridge Co. — the most recent contractors to work on the bridge’s rehabilitation before the state closed down the highway in December 2023 because it was at risk of collapse.
Barletta is among 13 contractors the state is suing for doing negligent work on the westbound Washington Bridge. Seven defendants, including Barletta, tried to get the case dismissed, but Judge Brian Stern denied their petitions on Feb. 27.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
