California Attorney General Launches Civil Probe of Bay Bridge Welding...

I posted about this a week or so back, and it appears to be back in the news. From CBS 5 in Oakland, California... This story is worth watching, considering the potential problems they could face with up to five thousand bad welds on something as vital as that bridge.

The California attorney general's office reported today it has launched a civil investigation into allegations of flaws in the welding on the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge. Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer, said the probe is a false claims investigation that will try to determine if taxpayer funds were unlawfully obtained through fraud or deceit.

Dresslar said the attorney general's investigation is separate from a criminal probe being conducted by the FBI into allegations by current and former bridge welders. The workers have claimed that as many as one third of the 5,000-plus welds they put in place on the span were faulty and that bridge contractor KFM told them to cover up shoddy work.

Dresslar said if his office finds wrongdoing, it could seek civil penalties, actual damages and triple damages.

He said the probe began this week and "we'll take as long as we need for a thorough investigation.''

Dresslar said that after the attorney general's office became aware of the allegations of shoddy welding on the bridge, the office had an internal review and discussions and decided that a civil investigation into the possibility that taxpayer funds were spent under false pretenses would be the most appropriate avenue for it to pursue.

Caltrans officials weren't immediately available for comment on the investigation by the attorney general's office. Last week, Caltrans Director Will Kempton said the agency has "a great amount of confidence'' in the quality of the welding."