Marietta Daily Journal
Ferruary 23, 2010

Grand jury probe sought for work at courthouse
by Katy Ruth Camp

COBB COUNTY – Cobb County Rep. Rob Teilhet (D-Smyrna) has asked county and federal prosecutors to open a grand jury investigation into allegations that illegal immigrants were employed at the construction site of the $63 million Cobb County Superior Courthouse.

In letters sent to Cobb District Attorney Pat Head and U.S. Attorney Sally Yates on Friday, Teilhet requested that each “consider empanelling a grand jury to investigate the relationship between the general contractor, subcontractor and sub subcontractor and what the respective parties knew or should have known about the illegal conduct at issue.”

Teilhet said a grand jury based out of Cobb could investigate whether Turner Construction, the general contractor, or Zebra Construction, the masonry subcontractor, violated state laws. Yates would have the authority to request that a federal grand jury investigate possible federal law violations. Teilhet also wrote that the juries should determine “whether similar conduct has occurred on other projects involving these same parties.”

Teilhet, a Democrat, is running for Attorney General, a job for which county Chairman Sam Olens, a Republican, is also campaigning.

Teilhet’s request comes at the heels of watchdog group Jobs for Georgians’ undercover investigation, during which member José Alvarez said he visited the site from November until January, posing as a bricklayer. Alvarez said he befriended many of the Zebra workers and has a recorded conversation with a blocklayer that proves those workers were being paid in cash, were not checked under the federal citizenship authorization program E-verify, and were not paying income or Social Security taxes.

Chip Kessler, president of Suwanee-based Zebra, said the contractor hired by his company to manage the blocklayers, Victor Candelaria, was pulled from the project Feb. 5 when they learned he was not enrolled in E-verify.

Alvarez estimates that 14 workers employed by the subcontractor were illegal immigrants.

“I think there are a lot more questions than answers, and a grand jury investigation could hopefully get to the bottom of all of this and get answers,” Teilhet said. “If hiring illegal workers on a construction site is a practice that is commonplace, as I think most people would say it seems to be, I think this would be a good opportunity to set an example to say that if you are doing this, there will be consequences.”

But District Attorney Pat Head said he is unsure why Teilhet would ask for a special grand jury investigation into the matter, as he interpreted his request, when the state legislature has no set consequences for employing illegal workers.

“Basically, the jury could make recommendations that Turner follow the law, but the legislature, which Rob is a part of, has no provisions for punishment. I’m just curious what he thinks could be accomplished by this, even if it happens,” Head said.

Teilhet acknowledged that there are no punishments established for second-tier subcontractors, like Candelaria, but said that the jury could find out whether the groups knew illegal workers were being employed and if Candelaria violated state laws by paying workers in cash without withholding taxes or insurance funds.

Head said that empanelling a special grand jury is an expensive process and the only special grand jury that has been empanelled in the history of Cobb County was when the Cobb School Board was investigated for the legality of then-Superintendent Joe Redden’s $100 million laptop proposal.

Head said that investigation lasted 14 months, with 25 citizens (23 at any one time) being paid $25 for each day they convened and two bailiffs each receiving $70 a day. The grand jury made no indictments, but did issue a list of recommendations to the board.

Normal grand jury investigations occur at two-month periods, with the next beginning on March 12. According to Head, jurors attend an orientation, where they are told they can choose to investigate any matters related to Cobb County government and assign members to a committee to investigate.

For a special grand jury to be empanelled, the Chief Judge of Cobb County has to take the issue to the Superior Court Council, who will then decide whether to empanel a jury. Head said that he filed a letter to the Chief Judge requesting an investigation into the school board’s actions, but that the Chief Judge could convene with the council without any recommendation from Head.

The District Attorney said he will likely write Teilhet a letter back, requesting more information about his purpose for wanting an investigation before deciding whether to take similar action.

Teilhet said his request leans more towards empanelling a special grand jury, as the situation is well-known across the county and is occurring on such a large, public project, but that he would defer to Head as to whether a regular grand jury could handle the investigation.

“I think Pat Head is a great District Attorney and I highly respect him, so I would certainly go along with whatever he felt was most appropriate,” Teilhet said.

Teilhet said one of the best results of a grand jury investigation would be to finally find and question Candelaria.

“With a grand jury paneling, Candelaria can be brought in, put under oath, and he and others can be forced to answer all of these questions that everyone is avoiding. Who is he? Does he really have a company, even though no one has a name for it or will provide that documentation? How was he hired? Was he really fired, or just moved to another project? Is he a sub sub or is he really part of Zebra? In the meantime, he is being given all of the blame, understandably, but Zebra and others claim to not know the name of his company or give anyone access to speak with him. If your subcontractor or sub sub has been proven and admitted to hiring illegal workers, you know the name of that company, if there is one. You know everything you need to know about him at least in the event ICE does investigate you, as Chairman Olens has requested,” Teilhet said.

On Feb. 11, Chairman Olens asked that the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency investigate to determine whether any immigration laws were violated on the construction site.

But Teilhet said an ICE investigation could take a long time, which could create irreversible controversy considering that both Turner and Zebra continue to be employed and profit from the project.

“I agree with Sam that ICE should investigate the matter. But ICE is notorious for inaction and taking far too long to investigate these matters,” Teilhet said. “Grand jury investigations could happen very quickly, depending on what is found through the investigations. We need to make sure that nothing illegal is continuing to happen on the job site, and that these jobs are going to local, legal residents and that our money is being spent properly. Jobs in construction are perishable commodities. We need to know for sure that they are going to people who deserve them, especially in this economy, and that all parties responsible for not allowing that to happen be held accountable for their actions.”

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