HOUSTON – City of Houston leaders are releasing very little information about its business dealings with a dozen companies it hired to repair and inspect waterline breaks and leaks.
KPRC 2 Investigates reported the cozy connections several of the companies have with the Houston Public Works employee in charge of the emergency repair contracts.
When investigative reporter Amy Davis questioned city administrators about employee Patrece Lee and the companies, the Communication Director of Houston Public Works said they asked the Office of Inspector General to investigate the allegations.
“Not at this time,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner, responding to a reporter at a news conference on Dec. 4, who asked about the waterline contracts. “That’s an investigation that’s ongoing.”
Follow the timeline
- Nov. 7: Investigative reporter Amy Davis knocked on the door of Andrew Travis Thomas, the owner of Lu’s Construction & Inspection, awarded a $4.5 million emergency work order contract. Thomas’ sister is Houston Public Works maintenance manager Patrece Lee.
- Davis reported the questionable connection to Houston Public Works and the Houston Mayor’s Office the same day. Within hours, Houston Public Works said they asked the OIG to investigate.
- November 9: Invoices obtained through a public information request reveal that Lee authorized a $116,867.39 payment to Lu’s Construction. Lu’s registered business address is a Bellaire post office box at a UPS store in Lee’s name.
The Mayor won’t comment, except to say this...
At the same Dec. 4 news conference when the Mayor said he wouldn’t comment on the contracts pending the OIG investigation, he kept talking.
“Anybody who‘s reporting that the city has paid out $10 million in this particular matter, that’s wrong,” Turner said. “I will say just the employee has been relieved of duty. The contract has been terminated. And about $406,000 was paid out to that particular contract until it was found.”
We confirmed through the invoices we obtained, that the city paid Lu’s Construction $406,409.57 from Oct. 19 through Nov. 9. There were other payments to other businesses that raise red flags.
The city paid more than $584,459.97 to C & J Arsenal Construction, a company that didn’t even exist until August. We showed you how the company is owned by a man named Joe Garcia, the cousin of a Houston water employee named Cesar Cardova.
They paid $349,727.93 to CST Connections. Owner Frank Perkins, Jr told Davis he provided about 25 employees to type up work orders for the waterline repairs. Many of those employees doing what Perkins called administrative work are related to other Houston Public Works employees at the water department.
The city also paid $244,218.17 to Space City Environmental, a company owned by Lee’s ex-sister and brother-in-law.
As we’ve reported, the city approved $80 million in emergency waterline repair contracts this year so far, compared to just $30 million all of last year.
We have asked the city about the employment status of specific employees tied to these contracts. We are still waiting for that information. A city spokesperson last told us Lee is suspended with pay.
Conflict at OIG
The Office of the Inspector General is a division of the City Legal Department. This is the agency investigating the emergency repair contracts, the businesses and the city employees. KPRC 2 Investigates has confirmed in recent months, Houston Public Works’ chief of staff Roel Garcia was promoted to the OIG. We don’t know if he is working on this particular investigation. Davis called Garcia and left him a voicemail message. He hasn’t returned the call.