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Pa. Turnpike Commission sues tech company for $45 million

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is seeking about $45 million from a tech company that was central to a state investigation into corruption at the Turnpike Commission.

TOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
TOM GRALISH / Staff PhotographerRead more

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is seeking about $45 million from a tech company that was central to a state investigation into corruption at the Turnpike Commission.

In a lawsuit filed in Dauphin County Court, the Turnpike Commission contends that Ciber Inc., a Colorado-based technology firm, overcharged and under-delivered on its $82 million in contracts to create and install a computerized financial-reporting system for the turnpike.

Former Ciber vice president Dennis Miller is also a defendant in the suit.

Bonnie Bird, a spokeswoman for Ciber, said: "The Ciber contract with the Turnpike Commission was timely and properly performed. The system was accepted and approved by the client and has been in use for several years.

"Ciber denies any liability to the Turnpike Commission and will vigorously defend itself against the commission's baseless claims."

The 433-page lawsuit echoes many of the allegations of a state grand jury, whose presentment in 2013 resulted in pay-to-play charges against top turnpike officials.

The suit also raises many of the issues first cited by a turnpike whistleblower, financial officer Ralph M. Bailets, who has said he was fired by the Turnpike Commission for exposing corruption.

A former Turnpike Commission chief executive officer, Joe Brimmeier, eventually pleaded guilty to a felony conflict-of-interest charge and is serving five years of probation. Mitchell Rubin, former chairman of the Turnpike Commission, is on two years of probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of commercial bribery.