State boots bridge builder off list of public contractors

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January 15, 2009

By Sanne Specht

Mail Tribune

The contractor that built Rogue River's Depot Street bridge and at least eight other bridges in Jackson County has been banned from future jobs involving public funds in Oregon.

Steven M. Ross of Ross Bros. Construction Inc., of Brooks, "is out of business as a public contractor," said Tony Green, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Justice.

As part of the settlement, Jackson County will not have to pay any portion of the $4 million in additional expenses that Ross had demanded for work on the Rogue River bridge.

The action was part of an agreement reached over civil racketeering charges filed against Ross by the state and applies to all four of Ross's construction companies, including Ross Bros. Construction, Ross Bros. & Company Inc., Ross Crane & Rigging Inc. and Pacific West Coast Trucking Inc.

In addition to Ross' companies, the injunction effects Greg Ross, Todd Ross and Jeff Howell, said Green.

The litigation stemmed from a contract claim by Ross against the Oregon Department of Transportation for work on a bridge construction project in Ontario. A state investigation into Ross's claims resulted in the Oregon Attorney General's Office filing a racketeering charge against Ross, alleging unspecified financial issues related to the Ontario and Rogue River projects.

Ross Bros. also worked on the new McAndrews Road bridge over Bear Creek near the Rogue Valley Mall in Medford and on several recent bridge projects in other parts of the county. ODOT officials say Ross Bros. was a regular contractor for the department.

Calls to Ross Bros. Wednesday went unreturned. The injunction states all parties specifically deny any wrongdoing.

The state later added the Rogue River Depot Street bridge project to the racketeering suit, and the cases were combined in a Jan. 9 injunction which states Ross and four of his companies are permanently prohibited from engaging in public works contracting in Oregon, he said.

The judgment dismissed all existing civil claims and lawsuits between parties. Since the state's allegations against Ross were civil, rather than criminal, they exposed Ross to fines and injunctions, rather than jail time, Green said.

Ross had filed a $4 million claim for work beyond what was anticipated on the Rogue River bridge project, said Mike Kuntz, Jackson County Engineer. But as a part of the racketeering judgment, none of that claim will be paid, he said.

Ross Bros. has been paid the $9.5 million contract amount, minus 5 percent to be held until all final details are completed and $750,000 in fines incurred when construction work continued past a Jan. 1, 2006, deadline, Kuntz said.

"We backed them (the fines) out of payments as (Ross) was being paid," he said. "We have that money in hand."

The project still has a few items to be completed. None are structural issues and most have to do with the bridge's sidewalk finishes, Kuntz said.

"Ross will finish the items if they can be completed in 60 days. If it goes beyond 60 days, it will probably get done by a successor company," said Kuntz.

Ross Bros. currently has seven open contracts with ODOT, three of which have been completed. In addition to the Depot Street Bridge, Ross is working on a three-bridge contract in Jackson County, which includes West Valley View Bridge over Bear Creek (in Talent), Oak Street Bridge over Bear Creek (in Ashland) and Dead Indian Memorial Road Bridge over Emigrant Creek (outside Ashland).

Kuntz said the county is settling financial issues related to those bridge projects.

The judgment allows Ross' successors and family to create a new corporation to engage in public works contracting, subject to the requirements and restrictions of the judgment. The new corporation can take on existing Ross contracts within 60 days of entering the judgment.

The judgment stipulates that Ross' sons may operate a new company as long as it does not operate under a name that includes the words "Ross" or "RBC" or any other name that is associated with Steven M. Ross and his companies. Ross can be a passive owner and share in proceeds and contribute equipment and capital to a new corporation.

"If there are other relatives who would like to start a new company, they can do so under extremely strict supervision — beyond what a normal contractor would experience," said Green.

Any violation of the terms of the injunction carries a $100,000 fine, the agreement says.

Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 776-4497 or e-mail sspecht@mailtribune.com.

Correction: A headline on the original version of this story made an incorrect reference to racketeering charges. This version has been corrected.

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