You hear this party and that is responsible for the scam.
Let's go over reality.
Who needs to make extra money by purporting the scam? Manufacturers
Who colludes to do so? Contractors
Who forces the specs in bidding? Government Officials
Who forces certain products are bought - through "purchasing" mechanisms? Government Officials, bosses in government jobs who are not licensed architects and engineer acting independently of influence.
Who is supposed to independently make recommendations and independently write the specs for roofing? Licensed architects and engineers
Why? These are fire-rated products involved on structures larger than two dwellings on one lot - which require that a licensed architect or engineer independently design and specify such, devoid of any influence.
Are Building Permits required? Yes. Which helps enforce licensing laws, and that codes are met....and public safety is retained. You would think that would be important especially when dealing with schools.
Where do we see such building permits and total skirting of licensing laws taking place? AEPA purchased materials from Tremco or "annual purchase contracts" broken up with smaller construction contracts from Garland. Also, with bidding specs forced by:
Where do they go, to not destroy their firms and reputations?
For those who don't know the whole story, or are obfuscating reality, get into reality. The scam has to be stopped at the source. And it's not the architects and engineers who can do anything about it - they have no power. They are just tools beaten up to be used by crooks, it appears.
Why are government officials forcing the specs, beyond ignorance?
There are various ways, but we keep hearing that $30,000 to $40,000 minimum out of a $300,000 contract is siphoned off through not applying all of the asphalt between the layers, for instance. This is with already way-overpriced materials. The contractor hands back $ to the reps, then the reps or others involved with their companies "spread the wealth around". Got it?
What happens to the buildings and the public's safety?
Badly compromised. Leaks are occurring at even three years now, according to some reports. On steel decks, in snow country.
Got the picture?
For those who refuse to understand what really happens in these scams, what remedies does an architect have?
NONE that is good.
Architects have no power under corrupt schemes that involve so many - and so many passing the buck who should be doing something. Worse, they can't even alert their colleagues to the scams without huge repercussions - a specific set of steps has to be followed, for legal reasons.
Ask yourself, for those who don't get it:
Where can the architect, engineer or the taxpayer go, to stop the forcing of "Lock-Specs", with so many parties involved?
Let's go over reality.
Who needs to make extra money by purporting the scam? Manufacturers
Who colludes to do so? Contractors
Who forces the specs in bidding? Government Officials
Who forces certain products are bought - through "purchasing" mechanisms? Government Officials, bosses in government jobs who are not licensed architects and engineer acting independently of influence.
Who is supposed to independently make recommendations and independently write the specs for roofing? Licensed architects and engineers
Why? These are fire-rated products involved on structures larger than two dwellings on one lot - which require that a licensed architect or engineer independently design and specify such, devoid of any influence.
Are Building Permits required? Yes. Which helps enforce licensing laws, and that codes are met....and public safety is retained. You would think that would be important especially when dealing with schools.
Where do we see such building permits and total skirting of licensing laws taking place? AEPA purchased materials from Tremco or "annual purchase contracts" broken up with smaller construction contracts from Garland. Also, with bidding specs forced by:
- School Board Members
- School District Managers
- In-house Design Engineers
- Facilities/Administrative Staff
- City Council Members
- and more.
- Colleges
- Universities
- Department of Educations
- Maintenance Departments
- City Councils
- City Administrative Staff
- and more.
Where do they go, to not destroy their firms and reputations?
For those who don't know the whole story, or are obfuscating reality, get into reality. The scam has to be stopped at the source. And it's not the architects and engineers who can do anything about it - they have no power. They are just tools beaten up to be used by crooks, it appears.
Why are government officials forcing the specs, beyond ignorance?
There are various ways, but we keep hearing that $30,000 to $40,000 minimum out of a $300,000 contract is siphoned off through not applying all of the asphalt between the layers, for instance. This is with already way-overpriced materials. The contractor hands back $ to the reps, then the reps or others involved with their companies "spread the wealth around". Got it?
What happens to the buildings and the public's safety?
Badly compromised. Leaks are occurring at even three years now, according to some reports. On steel decks, in snow country.
Got the picture?
For those who refuse to understand what really happens in these scams, what remedies does an architect have?
NONE that is good.
- One was suicide, for one of my colleagues.
- Another is the FBI - but hey, the architect is not in on the payoffs, so the FBI can't help.
- Another are State Auditors - who have no teeth to reports. Nothing gets done in response.
- Another are State Attorney Generals - who in my case, were involved in the Roofer's Union and union guys called to warn me off him.
- Another are Qui Tam lawyers - who find it too difficult to prosecute.
- Another are Legislators. If Democrats, you will be shut down.
- If you pursue any kind of legal remedies, your life will be threatened - and by politicians.
- If you continue to ask for investigations and continue your legal remedies, those politicians will see to it that you are blackballed - not to mention your former employer caught on tape by professionals doing so.
- If you go to the Press, they take 2 years to "vet" the story, or as happens in San Francisco, that same threatening Mayor, yes, now former Mayor, "owns" one newspaper's reporters/news room and their reports, while one of the major TV Stations demands all kinds of extraneous and absurd information to report the basic and massive overcharges - thereby facilitating the massive local school roofing scams for years (ABC TV - reported to them more than once over 9 years now). All while self-righteously reporting how school kids are hurt in their education with the lack of "enough" school funding.
- Oh, and lest I forget: if you complain about your employers' dastardly deeds through channels that may or may not be published in your job (they were not in mine, and complaints separated against previous rulings by the California Supreme Court) - as even non-professionals in facilities environments are discovering - the ball will be moved around so that you may not complain and make your point. My case is a classic example, the University of California having themselves declared a fourth branch of government that does not have to obey any laws - against their own Charter. That's right, administrators with noses in the air, declaring themselves "gods" with our money. Why else was my case read into the Los Alamos Hearings into the US Congressional record in March 2003 as a "prime example of the lack of accountability of the University of California"? A whole self-appointed "ruling class "devouring the rest of us, eh? Sure acts like it.....
Architects have no power under corrupt schemes that involve so many - and so many passing the buck who should be doing something. Worse, they can't even alert their colleagues to the scams without huge repercussions - a specific set of steps has to be followed, for legal reasons.
Ask yourself, for those who don't get it:
Where can the architect, engineer or the taxpayer go, to stop the forcing of "Lock-Specs", with so many parties involved?
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