By John Tozzi
A Fox 5 News report that aired Feb. 7 charged three inspectors for the Farmingdale, L.I.-based Materials Testing Lab, who examined welding and other construction at schools, were not qualified and had criminal convictions. Avella said the report raised enough concerns that the city should stop work with the company.”Why haven't we canceled this contract immediately or at least halted it until there's a full investigation?” he said.The group, Materials Testing Lab said it is cooperating with investigations and the three men featured in a Fox 5 News report no longer work for the company. They were hired by a supervisor who was fired for unrelated reasons in November, according to Gerald McKelvey, a spokesman for the Long Island company. The report showed one inspector claiming that he was given a job and put to work inspecting school construction without any prior experience. The company disputed that in a statement and claimed he worked for two other testing companies before Materials Testing.But in light of the report, Materials Testing is more rigorously checking employees' qualifications, McKelvey said.”We just want to make sure these people are certified to be what they claimed they're certified to be,” he said. At the same time, none of the group's contracts with the city explicitly prohibited hiring felons, McKelvey said, and the group cannot fire employees solely because they had criminal backgrounds.Materials Testing Lab had more than $33 million in contracts with the city, according to a database of city vendors, including $9 million in the last year. An official in the city's Office of Contract Services said the group was last registered as a contractor in January 2005, a registration that lasts for three years.A spokeswoman for the School Construction Authority said in an email that the agency is investigating the allegations, but that Materials Testing only represented one of several levels of inspection for school buildings.Avella said the charges in the report raised questions about how the city hires private groups to inspect public works.”Is there a normal procedure in place to check out the quality of the inspectors?” Avella asked. “If there was, then why wasn't it followed through and we find out that these people are not properly licensed?”Materials Testing Lab has affiliates in New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut and other offices in New York, including New Hyde Park, L.I..Reach reporter John Tozzi by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300 Ext. 174.
