Competition record
Al's Asphalt
Deep profile · 1 linked library matter
Al's Asphalt is a Michigan paving contractor named in the federal asphalt bid-rigging case. The investigation concerned cover bids and produced corporate criminal fines of more than $8.2 million.
Overview
Al's Asphalt lays asphalt for roads, parking lots, and other paved surfaces in Michigan. Public agencies and private owners typically invite several pavers to bid and take the job that looks cheapest.
The Justice Department prosecuted a group of Michigan pavers for deciding the winner in advance and having the others submit cover bids priced to lose. On paper the owner saw competition. The low number had been chosen beforehand. Al's Asphalt is one of the firms in that case, alongside Asphalt Specialists and F Allied Construction.
Asphalt Specialists was sentenced to a $6.5 million criminal fine, and the investigation as a whole yielded corporate fines of more than $8.2 million. The library status is fined. This profile does not state a separate fine figure for Al's Asphalt.
Competition footprint
Cover bids are fake competition on a paving tender.
Road budgets and private lot owners pay the winning number.
The $6.5 million figure in this case belongs to Asphalt Specialists, and the $8.2 million figure is the investigation total.
Consumer & business angle
Cities, counties, and property owners were the customers who thought they had run a real bid.
The other Michigan pavers in the same prosecution were the firms submitting the complementary prices.
What to watch
- Procurement checks that compare paving bids for rotating winners and deliberately high companions.
- Any public account that separates Al's Asphalt's own penalty from the investigation-wide total.
Markets
asphalt paving · Michigan construction · local construction · government contracting · small business cartels
Also known as: als asphalt, al's asphalt