A company whose entire business is centered on verifying the safety and quality of building materials is being investigated for falsifying or faking test results with materials being used in the some of New York City's most high-profile construction sites, such as the new Yankee Stadium and the Freedom Tower.
Testwell Labs is a private company that verifies that building materials like concrete meet certain safety requirements. Investigators are not only looking into whether the company was illegally billing clients multiple times, but profiting by simply not testing material samples at all and issuing false or made-up test results. One investigator told the NY Times, “I guess it keeps your overhead and costs down if you don’t actually do the tests."
The investigation is widespread and is being overseen by the Labor Racketeering Unit in the Manhattan DA's office, which is working with other city agencies and the inspector general. Personnel at the Port Authority and the Yankee Stadium construction site claim they alerted law enforcement about concerns with Testwell's maybe-testing. Officials connected to both projects say that concrete on their sites have been re-tested and determined to be safe. Lawyers for Testwell Labs deny any wrongdoing.
The Times also has an article about the importance of concrete during this construction boom. And almost since the groundbreaking on the new Yankee Stadium, allegations have been made about some of the contractors on the site having ties to organized crime. Recently, the Yankees organization asked for an additional $350 million in taxpayer subsidized funds to build their new stadium, where even regular seats will cost a near fortune.
