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Empire Built On Sand. Businessman allegedly poured inferior concrete into key projects [bridges]
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | July 9, 2006 | Jaxon Van Derbeken

Posted on 07/09/2006 2:54:01 PM PDT by John Jorsett

Ricardo Ramirez seemed an unlikely success story: At 57, the former Marine Corps judo instructor had spent more than 20 years as a paving contractor and had little to show for it but a long string of lawsuits, business failures and bankruptcies.

Then, in 1998, the struggling businessman appeared to hit upon a way to make it in a new venture. Taking advantage of city and state programs designed to help minority-owned businesses, Ramirez started turning out low-priced, locally produced concrete for projects that included earthquake retrofit work on the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge. By 2003, his Pacific Cement venture was supplying a third of the concrete used in San Francisco's public works projects.

Prosecutors now believe it was an empire of sand.

Ramirez built Pacific Cement on a combination of moxie, deceit and greed, prosecutors say, only to have it crumble. Left behind, they say, was a costly and potentially dangerous legacy: tons of substandard concrete built into vital public structures.

Ramirez, now 65, faces charges of grand theft and fraud for allegedly passing off inferior recycled concrete -- a cheaper material that is more prone to wear, cracks and water penetration -- as meeting higher durability standards for the Golden Gate Bridge and a Burlingame wastewater treatment plant. He has pleaded not guilty.

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: affirmativeaction; baybridge; corruption; dbewbe; deebyweeby; diversity; fraud; govwatch; pacificcement; ricardoramirez; sanfrancisco; sf
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1 posted on 07/09/2006 2:54:04 PM PDT by John Jorsett
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To: John Jorsett

...and if any of his structures crumb and kill anyone, add mulitple counts of murder!


2 posted on 07/09/2006 2:57:04 PM PDT by Bommer
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To: John Jorsett

This reminds me of a situation we had in San Diego before minority set-asides in city work were abolished. One company was a Black-owned concrete supplier. When delivering for a non set-aside job, the guy charged a regular price, but when it was "Black concrete", the price went way up because he was the only game in town. Idiocy like that is illustrative of why those programs are usually a bad thing for taxpayers.


3 posted on 07/09/2006 2:58:03 PM PDT by John Jorsett (scam never sleeps)
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To: John Jorsett
"city and state programs designed to help minority-owned businesses"

Programs which by their very nature are unethical, immoral and discriminatory.

4 posted on 07/09/2006 3:04:56 PM PDT by BenLurkin ("The entire remedy is with the people." - W. H. Harrison)
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To: BenLurkin

There are supposed to be regular testing of the concrete batches that would catch the issue before the bad concrete was in place. There is way more to this issue.


5 posted on 07/09/2006 3:08:06 PM PDT by Thebaddog (Labs Rules! Brilliant!)
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To: John Jorsett
The way highway bridges in Missouri look six months after then are poured it appears Pacific Cement is a multi state operation.
6 posted on 07/09/2006 3:08:29 PM PDT by TYVets (God so loved the world he didn't send a committee)
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To: John Jorsett
"Hollow" concrete.. similar to New Orleans levee's
7 posted on 07/09/2006 3:08:37 PM PDT by divine_moment_of_facts ("Liberals see what they believe... Conservatives believe what they see")
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To: BenLurkin

I dunno about that. In the case of federal government contracting most of the work would be tied up by a few large companies if there weren't set asides that forced contracting officers to look elsewhere. Its sheer laziness most of the time. That and favors given and accepted.


8 posted on 07/09/2006 3:11:59 PM PDT by driftdiver
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To: John Jorsett

"He was not a malicious guy. He didn't go into this business thinking he was going to rip people off,'' said San Francisco Supervisor Fiona Ma, who gave back $5,500 that Ramirez contributed in 2004 to her state Assembly bid after the news broke of the fraud allegations in May.

"He's a hard-working guy, just trying to survive,'' Ma said. "He takes care of his grandkids. He doesn't have an easy life."

And there you have it -- a local politician on record explaining away the fraudulent activity of a supporter. San Francisco politicians are priceless.


9 posted on 07/09/2006 3:12:55 PM PDT by Roberts
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To: Thebaddog

Exactly right. Slump tests among others are required and have to be certified when doing DOT or state work. I'm sure California is more strict than any other state regarding this. Someone was paid off.


10 posted on 07/09/2006 3:16:20 PM PDT by Normal4me
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To: driftdiver
Contracting on the government side of the process is exceedingly difficult mind-numbing busy work. Every now and then someone passes around favors, but rarely. In most cases competitors pass around rumors of favors in hopes someone else's bid will be disqualified.

Tell you what, if government contracting officers and COTRs got as much bribe money as you bidders believe, everybody around DC would be living in a 25,000 sq ft minimansion, on 1/2 acre, with a pool, and 2 SUVs in the drive.

11 posted on 07/09/2006 3:20:29 PM PDT by muawiyah (-)
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To: John Jorsett
"Walker, who has known Ramirez for 30 years, said Pacific Cement was only doing what was needed to survive in a business climate where "white folks" had it in for Ramirez from the start.

"He was a Mexican, and the whites didn't want him in on it,'' Walker said. "He tried to cut the corners so he could make money like them, and now they say he is a big old criminal. That is what it boils down to.''
"
12 posted on 07/09/2006 3:21:32 PM PDT by Texas_Jarhead (Doing the jobs Americans won't do? Guess you haven't seen "Dirty Jobs")
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To: John Jorsett

This form of affirmative action racism is an affront to every hard working American.


13 posted on 07/09/2006 3:26:08 PM PDT by Prokopton
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To: Thebaddog

Exactly my first thought. What the heck? Where was the general contractor oversight? Where was the city's engineer? Waaay more culpability here.


14 posted on 07/09/2006 3:27:44 PM PDT by Obadiah (I wanted to play Mousetrap. You roll the dice, you move your mice. Nobody gets hurt.)
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To: John Jorsett

Yeah, but at least a minority got the contract!


15 posted on 07/09/2006 3:29:46 PM PDT by Minutemen ("It's a Religion of Peace")
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To: Roberts

Did you all read this article? Of course he was a malicious individual! How else do you rip off a city on such a horrendous scale, get caught for it a few times, throw the racist card, and keep doing what you've been doing?

Of course, the dopes in SF kept rehiring him, but does that really surprise anyone?


16 posted on 07/09/2006 3:29:57 PM PDT by CheyennePress
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To: Thebaddog

Excellent point. Here is OC, CA we had a delay on a Fwy project because when it was tested after pouring, it was found to be substandard. Like you said, there is WAY more to this than "we was dupped" which will be heard.


17 posted on 07/09/2006 3:31:24 PM PDT by IllumiNaughtyByNature (My Pug is On Her War Footing (and moving to Texas!))
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To: John Jorsett

We actually have a situation where the engineers say "recycling" is bad? What do the enviros have to say about this? They should have the final say on whether recycled concrete aggregate can be used or not.


18 posted on 07/09/2006 3:33:36 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: Normal4me

Next, the AG needs to investigate the inspectors office. At the very least someone was negligent, at the worse on the take. Neither should be tolerated and both should have ramifications, or else this kind of thing will happen again and again. Who inspects the inspectors?


19 posted on 07/09/2006 3:34:27 PM PDT by monkeyshine
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To: muawiyah

You mean they DON'T.


20 posted on 07/09/2006 3:43:23 PM PDT by snowman1
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