Comptroller Alan Hevesi scored a big victory in his brawl with Mayor Giuliani yesterday when a judge agreed the city “corrupted” the contracting process by awarding a $104 million deal to a well-connected firm.
Virginia-based Maximus, which has ties to a former mayoral adviser, had an unfair advantage over other groups vying for the lucrative welfare-to-work contracts, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice William Davis ruled.
“The comptroller has established that the … safeguards designed to insure the integrity and fairness of the contract procurement process were corrupted,” Davis wrote.
Corporation Counsel Michael Hess vowed an immediate appeal.
“This is an incomplete and unreasoned opinion,” Hess said. “It almost reads like a press release for the comptroller.”
The city sued Hevesi two weeks ago in an attempt to force him to register, or approve, the contracts – a necessary step before Maximus can be paid.
Hevesi has an obligation to register contracts, the judge said – but he ruled he would not take the “drastic” action of forcing Hevesi’s hand because the comptroller proved:
* The city gave the company a four-month head start over other groups in negotiations.
* Maximus said it had no help with its application, although it had a $30 million “teaming agreement” with Richard Schwartz, the mayor’s former workfare adviser.
* The city’s reasons for not using competitive bidding in awarding 17 welfare-to-work contracts – including the two Maximus deals – were “meritless.”
Hevesi said he was “pleasantly gratified” by the decision.
“But part of me is saddened,” Hevesi said. “It raises questions about the commitment of the mayor to the integrity of governmental processes. This lays at the doorstep of the mayor.”
Maximus, which has been running job-training and placement services in East Harlem since February, yesterday pulled the plug on the program after finding jobs for 80 welfare recipients.
Hevesi had rejected the contracts, and 15 others, in late February, saying they were not competitively bid.
Giuliani last month used his City Charter power to override Hevesi’s decision – and forced him to OK the other 15 deals.
But the comptroller held out on the Maximus contracts, saying he would not be “complicit” in the mayor’s “cronyism.”