FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The previous president and CEO of a commercial roofing firm in South Florida has admitted guilt in a conspiracy involving bid-rigging worth millions, impacting projects statewide, according to federal prosecutors.
Gregg Wallick, hailing from Fort Lauderdale, submitted a guilty plea in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida for one felony charge of conspiring to restrict trade, breaching Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
According to court documents, Wallick and his co-conspirators colluded on bids for commercial roofing contracts from at least September 2020 through February 2022. Prosecutors said the group agreed in advance on the prices they would submit to customers and determined which company would offer a deliberately inflated bid to ensure another company won the contract.
The practice, known as “cover” or “comp” bidding, is a form of bid rigging that undermines competitive bidding processes. Authorities said the conspiracy affected a variety of commercial roofing projects in Florida and enabled Wallick’s company to obtain more than $3.5 million in revenue.
“Bid rigging is cheating, plain and simple,” said Daniel W. Glad, acting deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. He said the scheme targeted customers seeking roofing services in a hurricane-prone region and pledged continued enforcement against similar conduct.
Brett Skiles, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, said the conspiracy drove up costs by manipulating what should have been a competitive bidding process. He urged potential victims to report suspected anticompetitive activity.
Wallick faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. A sentencing date has not yet been set. A federal judge will determine his sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
