Statement links construction firm to the mob

An affidavit filed in Brooklyn federal court links officials of the Schiavone Construction Company with schemes involving organized crime, according to a story by William K. Rashbaum of the New York Times.

The affidavit was part of a 2005 investigation of organized crime. In it, a federal investigator described the methods through which Schiavone officials intended to direct payments to a trucking executive connected with the Mafia. The statement includes a quote attributed to carting company executive Nicholas Calvo, in which Calvo explained Mafia influence over Schiavone. Calvo, arrested in a racketeering case earlier this year and identified by prosecutors as a Genovese Crime Family associate, recently pleaded guilty to extortion conspiracy.

Schiavone ties to the Genovese Crime Family have been rumored since an unsuccessful state fraud prosecution of a company owner in 1987. However, the contracting giant's general counsel Mary Libasi insists Schiavone is operating within the law and is cooperating with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn on the investigation. No charges related to the affidavit have been filed against the company or its executives.

Two employees of Schiavone Construction Company were among the 62 people charged in a broader racketeering investigation earlier this year.