LOS ANGELES (CN) - The City of Montebello awarded a $150 million waste-hauling contract without competitive bidding, which is illegal and "simply absurd," a citizen claims in Superior Court. Plaintiff Mike Torres, a member of the Traffic and Safety Commission, says the "backroom" deal with Athens Services was "illegally introduced" and "rushed through."
Torres says that though the $150 million deal was "arguably the largest contract in the city's history, the city either failed or purposely chose not to seek a competitive bid. This is simply absurd." Torres says it also violates city and state laws and the California Constitution.
Torres claims: "The methodology by which the city introduced the award of an exclusive franchise for commercial waste hauling, and the manner in which the exclusive franchise was implemented, is indicative of one very ugly and damaging concept that defeats the efficacy of governance: Corruption."
Torres is represented by Stephen Miles of Irvine.
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