The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle newspaper is reporting today that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the Rochester City School District and some of its contractors in a bid-rigging and kickback scheme.  Some of the underlying details of the alleged frauds committed are outlined in the D&C article.

OpenCdA has put up several posts describing the basis for and workings of Quebec’s Charbonneau Commission looking into the extensive corruption in Quebec’s construction industry.

It will be interesting to follow developments in the FBI’s investigation of the Rochester, New York, school district’s contracting practices.  School districts may be especially vulnerable to the type of fraud alleged in Rochester, because quite often their administrators and patrons just cannot imagine that their community’s predators in the construction industry would take advantage of their gullibility and vulnerability.

Of course to crooks, a dollar is a dollar.  While not all in the construction industry are crooks, some are, and school district boards have a duty to the district’s patrons to safeguard the money entrusted to them.  Board members must remember that their duty is to the district’s patrons and students, not to local industry.