Conn. companies to repay town $51K after rigging bids

STRATFORD — A pair of Connecticut-based insulation companies have been ordered to repay the town more than $51,000 after officials from the two businesses were convicted of driving up the cost of construction work at Stratford High School as part of a years-long bidrigging scheme.

Officials from Langan Insulation and BC Flynn Contracting Corp. have been ordered by a federal judge to pay back $15,250 and $36,124, respectively, according to court records and prosecutors.

Authorities have said the two companies conspired with other contractors in the region to divide up nearly $39 million in industrial insulation contracts between 2011 and 2018 by secretly sharing prices and bids.

In addition to Stratford, the clandestine scheme targeted public institutions and private businesses across the state, including PepsiCo, Stamford Hospital and Yale University. Prosecutors have said the companies inflated their costs by at least $1.47 million.

Company officials and attorneys for the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“Bid rigging and fraud are serious crimes with serious consequences,” Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter said in a statement following the sentencing last week of BC Flynn co-owner Michael Flynn. “This sentence reflects the division’s commitment to seeking appropriate punishment for criminal antitrust violations and ensuring that victims of antitrust crimes are made whole.”

On top of the restitution and a heavy fine, Michael Flynn was sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in the scheme. Gary DeVoe, a senior branch manager for the same company, was also ordered last week to serve five months behind bars.

Court documents show BC Flynn, which is based in Oxford, defrauded more than a half dozen institutions of about $1 million. Prosecutors have said the company overcharged Stratford by $36,124 for a $722,000 contract to upgrade Stratford High School’s air conditioning system.

Langan Insulation and its co-owner Thomas Langan were convicted of defrauding customers of more than $480,000, including charging Stratford an extra $15,250 for $305,000 in insulation work at the high school. Thomas Langan was ultimately sentenced to one year and one day in prison.