Five Defendants Plead Guilty for Bid Rigging Conspiracies on Commercial Roofing Projects in Central Florida

As part of an ongoing investigation, four individuals and one company have pleaded guilty for their roles in bid-rigging conspiracies throughout central Florida.

Glenn Bailey and Douglas Sutter each pleaded guilty in the Middle District of Florida to participating in a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition by rigging bids on commercial roofing projects in violation of the Sherman Act on Jan. 8 and 9, respectively. Kenneth Cody and Christopher Rakos also pleaded guilty to the same crime on Oct. 3 and Dec. 6, 2024, respectively. Service Works of Fort Lauderdale LLC, also pleaded guilty to the same crime on Oct. 3, 2024, and was sentenced on Jan. 6.

According to the plea agreements, each of the defendants knowingly entered into a conspiracy to restrain trade by rigging bids for commercial roofing services in the Middle District of Florida. The commercial roofing services included the installation and repair of flat and sloped roofs on commercial and other facilities. The rigged bids impacted a variety of projects, including roofing services for schools, religious buildings, condominiums and retail stores.

"Safe, affordable roofing is critical to Florida communities that are prone to hurricanes and other harsh weather conditions," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division. "The guilty pleas secured today further demonstrate our commitment to protecting the competitive bidding process that is essential to constructing and maintaining America's infrastructure."

"These individuals thought they could game the system and would not get caught. They were wrong," said Acting Special Agent in Charge John Carlo of the Department of Education Office of Inspector General (OIG)'s Eastern Regional Office. "The OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue those who misappropriate education funds for their own selfish purposes. America's taxpayers and students deserve nothing less."

The FBI and Department of Education OIG are investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Daniel A. Loveland Jr., Ronald P. Fiorillo II., Vijay N. Rao and Sumaiya F. Ismail of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division are prosecuting the case.

Anyone with information on bid rigging, price fixing, market allocation or other anticompetitive conduct in the roofing should contact the Antitrust Division's Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.