A longtime Cicero plumbing contractor who previously came under fire in an internal audit is facing renewed scrutiny after a town trustee said his bills do not provide enough detail and are “kind of high.”
Trustee Maria Punzo-Arias also called on the town’s legal department to “look into getting lower prices,” possibly through a competitive bidding process.
Nobody else on the board responded to her remarks, and all six other trustees voted in favor of paying Romano Plumbing Co. of Cicero $129,063 for water and sewer maintenance work covering much of July and August. Questioned after the Tuesday board meeting, Town President Larry Dominick said that he would address the situation “as soon as I can.”
He declined to say whether he agreed with Punzo-Arias’ suggestion of a competitive bidding process.
The town paid Romano Plumbing more than $1 million in 2003 and more than $1 million again in 2004, said Punzo-Arias. “I don’t have anything personal against Romano Plumbing,” she said. “We’re dealing with taxpayers’ money.”
Punzo-Arias’ criticism is not the first leveled at Romano from inside Town Hall.
In October 2002, Robert Porod, at the time a town engineering consultant, provided a report to then-Town President Ramiro Gonzalez that was critical of Romano Plumbing’s no-bid contract with the town.
Last October, Porod and three of his relatives sued the town and three officials, including Gonzalez, over the Porod family’s April 2003 ousters from town positions.
In the suit, which is pending, Porod said his report “revealed that Romano provided no warranty for its work and that the company charged the town more than double of what other companies charged for similar work performed under warranty.”
“The report also noted evidence that Romano may have been billing the town twice for the same work,” the suit states. Shortly thereafter, Gonzalez reassigned Porod to other duties that removed him from a position of “scrutiny and oversight” over Romano’s billings, the suit alleges.
Porod, who is now part of Dominick’s executive staff, declined comment after the meeting this week.
The firm’s owner, Romano DiBenedetto, said he has done business with the town for more than 40 years. He strongly disagreed with Punzo-Arias.
“I don’t need this baloney,” said DiBenedetto, who declined to answer any further questions.
Town spokesman Dan Proft said Punzo-Arias’ concerns are “legitimate questions and they will be looked into.”
“If there’s wrongdoing that’s been done, it’ll be rooted out,” Proft said.
Romano Plumbing has given about $26,500 to the Cicero political establishment since 1999, Illinois Board of Elections records show.
