Friday, April 8, 2011

Hinds County awarded $4 million contract to non-existent company

Other posts on this topic

Hinds County awarded a $4 million contract to Airwave, LLC in 2008. The Hinds County Board of Supervisors approved a radio maintenance contract with Airwave, LLC at the November 3, 2008 board meeting. The minutes state on page three:

"UPON A motion of Robert Graham and a second by Douglas Anderson, Peggy Hobson- Calhoun voting aye, George Smith voting aye, Phil Fisher voting aye, it was RESOLVED to approve a Radio Maintenance Agreement with Airwave Consultant. LLC. Document affixed hereto and incorporated herein."

The contract was signed by Airwave, LLC General Manager Stacy Stowers on December 1, 2008 and by Board President Peggy Hobson-Calhoun on December 2, 2008. The contract states the start date is December 3, 2008 and Hinds County will pay Airwave, LLC in quarterly installments according to the fo
llowing schedule (p.18):

Year one: $374,860 ($93,715 per quarter)
Year two: $521,885 ($130,463 per quarter)
Year three: $736,918 ($184,229 per quarter)
Year four: $770,035 ($192,508 per quarter)
Year five: $804,908 ($201,227 per quarter)
Year six: $845,153 ($211,288 per quarter)

The contract automatically renews at the end of the term on an annual basis unless each party gives proper notice it intends to cancel the contract.

Stacey Stowers, formerly of Brown Communications, is the manager and sole member of Airwave LLC. The company is the subject of some controversy after WLBT reported Wednesday:

"Stowers tells us that, on top of the $110,000 a year his company is making on the siren maintenance contract, Airwave is also raking in about $720,000 a year for radio maintenance, and $120,000 a year for site maintena
nce for communication towers.

That amounts to about $950,000 a year.

Stowers admits he's the only employee of Airwave, and that he contracts out some of the work."

There is just one slight, teenie-weenie problem with the Airwave, LLC contract. Airwave, LLC did not exist until January 28, 2009
, fifty-seven days after the contract with Airwave LLC was signed. The Secretary of State's website states that is when Airwave, LLC was created and Stacy Stowers is the manager. Incorporation papers. Thus, Robert Graham made a motion approved by the Board that awarded a $4 million contract to a non-existent company.



Editorial comment: The awarding of a $4 million contract to a non-existent company operated by Stacy Stowers is not a simple oversight but a case of malfeasance in office or criminal neglect by the supervisors and county officials. It is hard to argue Mr. Stowers deceived the county given the current board's special treatment of him and Nathan Hargrove. If the company did not exist when the contract was signed, then the contract is invalid and money was illegally spent. The taxpayers should demand repayment of the money funneled to Mr. Stowers. One can find no better example of why Hinds County is broke than this phony contract Mr. Graham awarded to his cronies. One can only hope higher authorities such as the state auditor look into this mess. Mr. Graham and his fellow supervisors don't owe us an apology, they owe us some MONEY!!!




34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where is the state auditor on this? Or perhaps the FBI? He should step down at once. If not, this ain't gonna be good for his re-election campaign. Yet another reason to move out of Hinds County.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Kingfish for your research and diligence in pursuing these crooks. This word needs to get out to EVERYONE... The attorney general should take immediate action against these criminals... ALL of them..!!!

Kingfish said...

Jim Hood won't do anything. Porter Bingham is too busy getting on his "reception committee".

Anonymous said...

Talk about an open ended contract. Read section 4.6 !!!

The "rest" of this story is:

WHAT IS THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF MONIES PAID TO THE CONTRACTOR IN EXCESS OF THE CONTRACT AMOUNTS? THAT'S WHERE THE REAL STEALING WILL SHOW UP.

Anonymous said...

Dividing the spoils...remember the school trailer contract after Katrina to a company formed by a Congressman's wife?

Remember Magnolia Venture and then there was the beef plant and now we have the plans for the mega building and a Senator's elderly mother's job.

Prosecution or none depends on how cleverly it's done. This time a little laziness in getting to the Secretary of State's office in a timely fashion.

Smart crooks vs dumb crooks...still crooks to me.

Anonymous said...

AND it is amazing when reading HindsCo Sup meeting minutes over the years since Graham joined the Board that Hargrove is in the minutes interchangeably representing Browns, Airwave, and Northstar. Furthermore Hargrove, who is not under contract, is frequently included in Exec Sessions (meaning non-Public) to discuss the litigation against Motorola.

To any Motorola attorneys reading this. GET OFF YOUR ASSES.

Anonymous said...

Kingfish and WLBT are the only truly investigative journalists left in this town.

Anonymous said...

I know this is OT KF but any updates from Pete Perry regarding the illegally let contract to Derrick Johnson?

Anonymous said...

I think the auditor's office will only go in when there is a complaint made. But you don't have to have any kind of standing to make a complaint.

http://www.osa.state.ms.us/complaint.asp

KaptKangaroo said...

Great piece. I especially enjoyed the editorial comment. Overall your diligence has paid off. I too hope, for the sake of all Jackson residents the State Auditor shows up!

Anonymous said...

By law Hinds county is audited by the State Auditor and these kinds of red flags should lead to a full scale investigation. There should not be a complaint needed.I would not think that Stacy would not be in bed with this bunch, so just do your job

Anonymous said...

It is readily apparent that the citizens need to band together and form a group who reviews all contracts which are submitted to the BOS or the City Council.

Either that or move to a different third world country.

Anonymous said...

Un-F*cking believable ! Talk about waste, fraud and abuse. Talk about incompetency...

Anonymous said...

Hell if these people can do it plus the Fraziers and get away with it, why can't i?

Anonymous said...

The good thing about contracting with non-existent companies is it cuts down on the paperwork. Unfortunately, the prison you go to isn't non-existent nor is your new roommate, Puff Daddy, who can bench press a Clydesdale.

Anonymous said...

The Fraziers are not going to prison, Kingfish or Wade please clear this up. And more than likely the DA will do nothing about this either.

Anderson said...

I iz pretend kompany. Can I haz $4M kontrac plz?

Ironghost said...

I have to agree, this is getting to the point where it's easier to get ahead via graft and corruption than hard work.

I mean, who is going to prosecute these people? No one. Who's going to throw out the Hinds BOS? No One.

Anonymous said...

there is only one way to vote these people out of office and that is with your feet while you walk to another place to live

Carraway Creative said...

All these supervisors are doing is giving this guy a license to steal. Don't count on Stacey Pickering to do anything for any county. Basically if the county supervisors vote on it and there is a contract (even if they don't oversee the contract or it has open terms or it has ended) they can bill the county and the liability falls back on the Supes in your county. Who ever in their right mind would pay for maintenance up front anyway? I would like to see what he had to do in just one years time. They are probably too stupid to even be getting kickbacks on this. KINGFISH FOR SUPERVISOR!

Anonymous said...

§ 79-4-2.04. Liability of preincorporation transactions

All persons purporting to act as or on behalf of a corporation, knowing there was no incorporation under Sections 79-4-1.01 et seq., are jointly and severally liable for all liabilities created while so acting.

I don't think there's a similar provision in the LLC act but, hey, fraud pierces all veils....

Anonymous said...

Uhh, excuse me . . ., but is the issue here the dotting of an "i" and crossing of a "t" in contract formation, or is breach of contract at issue here? Did Airwave perform under the contract (and I don't know if it did or didn't) so that Hinds Co. could receive the benefit of its bargain? If so, then it's much ado about nothing because preincorporation contracting is not uncommon. Besides, the contract states that Airwave only accepts the contract as of the date of Airwave's first performance under the contract. That would be the "acceptance" side of the offer-acceptance needed to form a contract, and by that date Airwave was probably properly formed. There may be a reason to have the contract/performance investigated, but the preincorporation aspect is just a red herring.

Kingfish said...

That was very clever, was very lawyer-like, and very well thought out when you wrote it.

Just one problem. It focused on Airwave, not the county. The Board can still be forced to repay the money spent by it on an illegal or invalid contract. Those laws DO exist for a reason, not that that bothers you.

Anonymous said...

Kingfish @ 8:32, I hope you don't think there is anything wrong with application of reason and common sense. While I don't condone the way that Jax/Hinds does business, arguing "form over substance" generally doesn't carry the day. If you contract for services to be performed, and the services are actually performed but the manner of contracting wasn't perfect, nobody was harmed if everyone received what was expected out of the contract. For example, if an underage minor signs a lease for an apartment while he is at college, and he pays the lease and stays in the apartment without any problems for his year in college, who got harmed by the imperfect contract? Nobody -- everyone got what they bargained for in the lease contract.

Anonymous said...

Mr. 8:56 that is total BS and we all know it.This deal stinks to high hell.

Anonymous said...

10:03, I absolutely agree that the "deal" smells. But regardless of whether the "deal" was a less than arms length transaction, or whether there was "hanky panky" involved in the dealmaking, the "preincorporation" facet of the contracting isn't grounds for all of the hoopla, much less ground for an investigation or lawsuit. The preincorporation allegation is just a red herring -- an angle that allows the populace to vent their frustrations over the continuing downward spiral of Hinds Co. Investigate the real wrongs, but don't waste time, resources, and effort over non-issues. Why doesn't someone look into the alter ego theory of liability for the multiple companies that share the same office, same personnel, same office equipment, etc., with Airwave? Maybe even racketerring. That'll get someone's attention.

Kingfish said...

Oh really? Contract starts on December 3, 2008. Someone gets hurt on the job or someone is injured by the actions of Stowers or his employees in the scope of employment but before Jan. 28, 2009.

Who does he sue? Does your so-called pre-incorporation doctrine give liability to the LLC for injuries done before it was formed?

Anonymous said...

Kingfish @11:38, that is not the issue -- nobody got hurt or is looking for someone to sue over a personal injury. So, why speculate and get mad over a "past possibility" that never happened -- stick with "reality". You clamored over the incorporation date of Airwave. But, in "reality" that's a non-issue. Sounds to me like the merits and issues relate more to "waste" of taxpayer funds, lack of oversight of the actions of the Bd. of Sup., and potential fraud. So investigate and get mad over the merits -- the real issues -- not a non-issue like the date of incorporation.

Anonymous said...

I'm wondering if people haven't been reading the posts on the shenanigans in Madison county and other places on this very blog.
Where is everyone planning to move?

Seems to me that giving out sweetheart contracts where the taxpayers' money is wasted isn't any better just because one crook does all the paperwork and one crook doesn't.

If you are taking taxpayer money at a higher fee than you could get for the WORK privately, you're a crook in my book. Indeed, it's worse when we have no recourse because the laws have been written to allow such shenanigans

Anonymous said...

If the State Auditor won't blow this thing up, can a taxpayer file suit and go after each of the 5 Supe's Performance Bond to get the money put back into the County bank account? If I lived in Hinds like I used to, I'd try.

Anonymous said...

I'm actually more interested in HOW the contract was FILED IN COURT a full MONTH BEFORE the contract was signed! Also, it appears that there were NO WITNESSES to EITHER party's signature--they even signed the contract on DIFFERENT DATES! In my state, this would NOT fly...STATE AUDITOR, WHERE ARE YOU??????

Anonymous said...

ONe thing all of us need to keep in mind when we start charging the powers that be SHOULD BE DOING THIS AND SHOULD BE DOING THAT is that the State Auditor's office has a LIMIT in funds available to investigate as well as the list of cases NEEDING to be opened and followed.

$90,000/ year was the amount I heard. Did the legislature increase that?

Anonymous said...

KF, you've just got to pull this one over here

http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20110503/NEWS/105030338/1001/RSS01

"Hinds ends upkeep contract on sirens"

"Unchanged by Monday's action is a $4 million, six-year deal that calls for the county to pay Airwave $736,918.56 this fiscal year for maintenance of its radio system, Woods said."

""We need someone as needed if something breaks down,"

You need to read this one.

sandfly/live.com said...

have any units failed to alarm after airwave went to work ? no. so here is another bee in your bonnett is it against the law to fly a flag on american soil once america has defeated you ? so whats with the state flags and what was so wrong with the magnolia? who voted in the stars and bars ? that is the definition of high treason. so ther blog heads



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