GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga.,None — When Gwinnett County tore down the famous water towers in August 2010, they contracted to pay a local demolition company $149,000 for the job.
After the contract was under way, they discovered some of the workers the company employed were illegal immigrants.
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution open records request yielded the county's final reports of the audits it conducted of businesses it had contracts with in 2010 and 2011.
The county said they conduct the audits annually to ensure the companies they do business with comply with the federal E-verify program.
Of the 12 audits conducted in 2010 and 2011, records showed six businesses were not verifying workers legal status within three days, as the feds recommend.
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In the case of tower demolition company, the audit said five of the employees were "non-authorized by the E-Verify system."
"I wish they could do a lot more of it," said Steve Ramey with the Founding Fathers Tea Party Patriots of Gwinnett County.
Ramey said the audits indicate Gwinnett County should be conducting a lot more.
"With the technology we on hand these days, I can't imagine why we couldn't do more," Ramey said.
Kavanagh went to Tristar of America Inc. in Norcross to question them about the findings. The staff invited her in to explain changes they made to comply.
"We learned a great lesson," company vice president Don Barillari said.
Barillari said when they began the towers contract, E-verify was relatively new. He said the hiring of illegal immigrants was an oversight that won't be repeated.
"Everybody that comes in for an application in this office is E-verified," Barillari said.
Kavanaugh asked Gwinnett County to comment and explain their auditing process. A representative told her no one was available.
Later, in an email, a representative with Gwinnett County told Kavanaugh they terminated the contract with Tristar after the audit.
WSBTV
