Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Bid rigging charges against Florida commercial roofers keep coming, (Dec 17, 2024)
Law Firms Mentioned:Kynes, Markman & Felman, PA | McGuirewoods LLP | Vinson & Elkins LLP
Organizations Mentioned:Greenberg Traurig, LLP | McGuire Woods, LLP | Service Works of Ft. Lauderdale, LLC | U.S. Department of Justice | Vinson & Elkins, LLP
Fifth case in probe names a Ft. Myers-area executive, who has agreed to plead guilty.
An executive of a commercial roofing company was charged on December 11 with conspiring to rig bids for commercial roofing contracts in Florida. The case against Glenn Bailey was filed by the Department of Justice Antitrust Division in the federal district court in Ft. Myers, Florida. Bailey, a resident of Ft. Myers, is expected to appear in court in early January 2025 to plead guilty. The case is the fifth in the Antitrust Division’s probe of bid rigging conduct in Florida commercial roofing market.
The challenged conduct in the Bailey case allegedly took place between 2010 and December 2022. During a portion of that time, Bailey was a majority owner of the unidentified company, which is based in Lehigh Acres, Florida. Bailey allegedly conspired with executives of an unnamed competitor based in Ft. Myers. The companies purportedly agreed which firm would submit an intentionally higher, losing bid. Potential customers usually solicited bids from at least two providers.
The charge against Bailey follows criminal bid rigging allegations against others in Florida’s commercial roofing industry, including Christopher Rakos. Rakos, who was charged on November 13 in Ft. Myers federal district court, appears to be associated with the same company as Bailey. According to court documents, he purchased a controlling interest in that company in or around 2022. Rakos is charged with conspiring to rig bids with a competitor based in Sarasota. The challenged conduct took place between 2010 and October 2020. Rakos has agreed to plead guilty to the single bid rigging charge.
Douglas Sutter, the president of a Sarasota-based roofing company, also has agreed to plead guilty to bid rigging. He was charged on November 8 and was alleged to have conspired with a Ft. Myers-based competitor. The challenged conduct took place between 2017 and August 2022.
First cases in probe. The first cases brought in the probe were announced in August. The Antitrust Division charged a commercial roofing company—Service Works of Ft. Lauderdale, LLC, and an individual branch manager of the Ft. Myers outlet of an unnamed Tampa-based roofing company—Kenneth W. Cody—with conspiring to rig bids. The time period of the alleged conspiracy was from April 2017 until August 2021. Both Service Works and Cody pleaded guilty. Sentencing is set for early January 2025.
Attorneys: Daniel Alan Loveland, Jr., U.S. Department of Justice. Brandon Kyle Breslow (Kynes, Markman & Felman, PA) for Douglas C. Sutter. Heather Holden Brooks (McGuirewoods LLP) for Christopher Rakos. Craig P. Seebald (Vinson & Elkins LLP) for Kenneth W. Cody. Steven Harrison and Pamela Marple (Greenberg Traurig, LLP) for Service Works of Ft. Lauderdale, LLC.
Companies: Service Works of Ft. Lauderdale, LLC
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