Drug kingpin was middleman
Ex-con said to be contractor's link with City Hall
Ex-con said to be contractor's link with City Hall
Post-Tribune (IN)
October 26, 2003
October 26, 2003
Before his connections with the 1999 East Chicago sidewalk scandal, federal officials say Ron Markowski's long criminal past included ties to former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega and famed Colombian Medellin drug cartel affiliate Pablo Escobar. They also say he piloted thousands of pounds of cocaine and marijuana into Northwest Indiana airfields.
A former drug kingpin served as a middleman between East Chicago City Hall and at least one contractor involved in the 1999 sidewalk paving scandal.
A Post-Tribune investigation has linked Ronald Markowski with the $20 million paving project that has led to the indictment of six city officials.
Markowski was the ringleader of what was described in 1983 as "the largest cocaine conspiracy smuggling case in Indiana history," one that included small airplanes loaded with Colombian dope flying into Northwest Indiana airports.
One contractor involved in the 1999 work, which involved paving, tree removal and other public work, admits it was Markowski who was his connection to City Hall orders.
"I gave Ron my prices before doing any trees and he'd say 'yay' or 'nay,' " said Dave Johnson, owner of Munster-based Dave's Tree Service.
"Ron would ride with us every day and show us which trees to do. He'd go every day and get his list from the city, because I didn't know any of those guys, so he'd get the list."
Johnson's interview with the Post-Tribune marks the first time he has told of the arrangement, he said.
Johnson said he wasn't subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury that issued the indictments of six city officials.
Had he been, he said, he would have told how Markowski reached out to him on behalf of the city, introduced him to others involved in the sidewalk work, and continued to serve as his City Hall contact.
East Chicago records show no proof of Markowski having ever been employed by the city, nor was Markowski under contract to act on behalf of any city officials.
A federal investigation found there were no contracts signed for any of the 1999 work.
Mayor Robert Pastrick declined to return calls seeking an explanation as to why Markowski would be in a position to speak on behalf of the city and to dole out work.
It's not clear how many other contractors took orders from Markowski, nor is it clear who was Markowski's city contact.
Court records show that 20 years ago Markowski, 65, mingled with the elite of the drug-dealing world, rubbing shoulders with those later tied to the likes of former Medellin cartel leader Pablo Escobar and ex-Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega.
Now, he has been tied to the Pastrick administration.
Markowski was indicted in 1983, sentenced to 45 years in prison, but only served 10 years after cooperating with federal officials on other drug cases.
Markowski, reached at his East Chicago home, angrily demanded to know the name of the person who had linked him to the sidewalk scandal.
He berated Johnson and city officials but would neither confirm nor deny his involvement.
"Those people (at City Hall) don't intimidate me whatsoever," Markowski said. "I'm no idiot. I did 20 years (sic). Those (expletives) don't scare me."
Then, he demanded, "Leave me out of your story."
Verbal deal goes sour
It was just a few months before the May 1999 primary, Johnson said, when he got a phone call from Markowski.
"He said he had city work," Johnson recalled. "He wanted to know if we were interested."
City officials began preparing for paving work in late 1998, planning to spend $450,000 on sidewalks.
A year later, $20 million had been spent on paving sidewalks, driveways and patios, removing trees and doing other work for residents at city expense.
Plans to obtain bids were thrown out the window, prosecutors say, and instead work was doled out on an oral basis.
Work went to established companies and to companies created just before work started, some without proper licensing or bonding, as required.
It was a flurry of work that saw private work done with public money, prosecutors say, to encourage votes for Pastrick and his City Council allies in the 1999 primary.
While three of those council members and three Pastrick department heads have been indicted for their roles in the plan, Pastrick has denied any involvement or knowledge of it.
Johnson said he never dealt with anyone from the city -- nor did he submit a public bid, nor did he sign a city contract.
Instead, he said, all of his work went through Markowski and Calumet Concrete.
In early 1999, Johnson said, Markowski introduced him to Calumet Concrete owner Bob Velligan, through whom all tree removal work would be done.
Johnson said he submitted all bills to Velligan, who, he said, would include a substantial markup before submitting an invoice to the city for payment.
But their deal, he said, fell apart after the first payment.
"His first bill to the city was for $37,000 and he cut me my $17,000," Johnson explained. "But then, for a year, I had to try and get the rest.
"It was ridiculous."
City records show at least three payments of an estimated $37,000 to Calumet Concrete between April and May 1999, but with no indication of what type of work was billed.
But court records show Dave's Tree Service sued Calumet Concrete in April 2000, seeking damages for failure to pay on work done.
They settled out of court in 2001. Neither Johnson nor his attorney, Michael Dobosz, would reveal settlement figures. City attorney Dave Cerven did not respond to messages, while Velligan has not returned repeated calls.
But Johnson said, "We had four crews working seven days a week for two to three months. That's $200,000 a month for two or three months."
But, Johnson said, he "took an $80,000 hit" because outside of his company records, he couldn't prove every tree he'd cut.
"The stumps were gone," he said. "There was concrete over some of them. We knew a tree had been done, but it was gone.
"Then things got sticky."
Plenty of regrets
Things got sticky because, almost immediately after Pastrick's 1999 victory, federal officials began investigating.
A four-year investigation culminated in a September indictment that leveled 72 charges against six city officials.
The six -- City Councilmen Frank Kollintzas , Joe DeLaCruz and Adrian Santos, city engineer Pedro Porras, city controller Edwardo Maldonado and park director Joe Valdez -- are set to be tried together in 2004.
Campaign finance reports show no contributions by Markowski to those officials, Pastrick or elected officials from the Roxanna area.
Johnson said he doesn't know where Markowski got his daily orders, and "I didn't want to know -- as long as I got paid."
Court records verify that Johnson did get paid for the work done in East Chicago, but records showing an exact amount couldn't be located by Lake County Court Clerk staff.
City records show no direct payments to Dave's Tree Service but do include $100,000 in payments to Calumet Concrete specifically for trees.
All told, city records show, $5.1 million was paid to Calumet Concrete.
"After an internal city audit, we settled for a percentage on the dollar," Dobosz said. "Dave and Calumet Concrete walked away relatively unhappy --everybody took a loss on this. But Dave wanted to get past it."
State Board of Accounts officials say while Dave's Tree Service may have received a settlement, the company owes East Chicago taxpayers money.
Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter is responsible for recovering $2.5 million in private work done with public money -- including $130,000 paid to Dave's Tree Service and $1.7 million from Calumet Concrete.
But Johnson says all blame should fall on the city.
"It wasn't my fault they mismanaged things," he said. "I was doing what I was told. Now, I wish I never got involved
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