Manafort fined $2.4M for minority-contractor breach

Plainville contractor Manafort Brothers Inc. will pay a $2.4 million federal fine and undergo independent monitoring for lying about its use of minority contractors on a state highway project, authorities say.

The Connecticut U.S. Attorney’s office and other state and federal investigators announced Monday Manafort’s agreement to settle its role in a criminal and civil probe into the corporation’s misconduct surrounding the relocation of Route 72 in Bristol, work that dated to April 2007.

According to investigators, Manafort admitted lying to the state Transportation Department about its use of socially and economically disadvantaged contractors for its $39.7 million roadwork contract.

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Construction poised to be CT’s growth industry

Construction will lead Connecticut’s industries in job growth over the next 10 years, economists and labor analysts say.

The industry hit hardest by the Great Recession is poised for a strong rebound this year and beyond as public projects move forward and the backlog of private projects built up during the economic downturn starts to clear, said Andrew Condon, director of the state Department of Labor office of research.

“It is coming back, but it is coming back from a very big fall,” Condon said. “You have to put that in context because construction was coming from a very low place.”

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