The men and companies who expected to play key roles in the Colorado Convention Center expansion have been working together for years on another major public project, and the city of Denver’s allegations of collusion are forcing a re-examination of whether the work on the older project was above-board.

Last month, the city of Denver accused two major companies, Trammell Crow and Mortenson, of tainting the bidding process for the convention center. Emails released by the city of Denver show employees of the companies discussing information that the city says was confidential and talking about eliminating competitors.

The city moved quickly to fire the companies from public projects.

However, as the Denver District Attorney’s Office reviews the convention center situation, the companies are still working together on the $196 million redevelopment of the campus of Denver Water, which is independent from the city. Public records show that the companies and some of their key employees were involved in similar ways in both major projects.

Denver Water says it has not found signs of collusion between the men or their employers, but the high-level similarities between the projects have prompted the agency to examine whether its own competitive process was corrupted by insider influence.

“While we are still conducting our due diligence, we are not aware of any wrongdoing on the Operations Complex Redevelopment project,” Denver Water CEO Jim Lochhead said in a statement to The Denver Post.

“Protecting the integrity of our procurements is of critical importance, and we take this matter very seriously.”

High-level similarities

In both cases, Trammell Crow was entrusted with the power to influence how money flowed from public agencies to private contractors — a role that the city of Denver has accused it of abusing.

As a “program manager,” the company’s responsibilities include managing the bidding for a general construction contractor, giving its staff the power to make recommendations about which companies should be allowed to work on projects.

Mortenson won that competition for the Denver Water project, and it was a finalist for the convention center job before the scandal broke.

The two projects also shared high-ranking employees: Michael Sullivan of Trammell Crow and Dave Kuntz of Mortenson.

Both men feature prominently in emails uncovered as part of the city’s convention center investigation. Sullivan has since been fired from his employer, while Kuntz is no longer working on the Denver Water project, according to Denver Water officials.

Allegations of an improper relationship

Denver Water has promised a “thorough yet expeditious” review of its sprawling construction effort, which includes 11 new structures across its 35-acre headquarters in Lincoln Park, which stands at 1600 W. 12th Ave.

That investigation began within days of Denver’s public accusations, according to spokesperson Travis Thompson.

The review includes “the selection process and the contractors’ work during the project in light of the information we are learning about the City’s Convention Center procurement,” Thompson wrote in an email.

No documents released suggest wrongdoing on the Denver Water project.

To understand what patterns the agency may be looking for, it’s helpful to review Denver’s own allegations.

When the city conducted its internal investigation of the convention center project, it found emails that allegedly show Sullivan leaked a steady stream of unauthorized information to Mortenson employees, including Kuntz, during the bidding process.

“FYI,” Sullivan wrote as he forwarded emails from city officials to Kuntz. “As always, keep this quiet.” Just days earlier, city staff had asked that Sullivan not share the document with anyone.

“Instead of notifying the City that Trammell Crow was doing this, Mortenson accepted and used these confidential drafts for its benefit,” city officials wrote in a letter to Mortenson.

In other emails, Sullivan appears to have recruited Mortenson employees to do work for him, which he then presented to the city as his own. That may have given outsiders access to sensitive pricing information, city officials said.

Sullivan also talked about taking Mortenson employees out to dinner “to say thanks,” even though program managers are expected to minimize their communication with potential bidders.

In an exchange on May 15, Sullivan asked Mortenson employees when they would have the meal.

Kuntz wrote back within minutes, the files show: “I can think of a day that would be awesome…. (smiley) The day we get this job!”

Sullivan responded: “Nope. That’s the day YOU guys can take ME out! Ha ha!!”

And the requests appeared to go both ways. In a different email, Kuntz asked whether Sullivan was “able to get any language” into the rules for the competitive process that would “shutdown” a competing company’s bid. That change didn’t happen, but the company was eliminated from competition.

Full steam ahead

Denver Water’s project is scheduled for completion in 2019 after years of construction.

Trammell Crow has been working on it since 2012, when it won a competitive selection process. Later, Trammell Crow helped Denver Water select Mortenson’s bid to build the project.

Kuntz and Sullivan played high-level roles for their employers on the project, records show.

Kuntz was part of the Mortenson team during the contractor competition in 2014, though he wasn’t the team leader, according to Denver Water. He later worked on the project as the company’s local director of operations. Sullivan was the “program manager” for the development on Trammell Crow’s side, giving him broad oversight.

A month after the accusations, Trammell Crow has fired Sullivan. Meanwhile, Kuntz “is no longer involved” with the Denver Water project, according to the agency, though there is no sign he has left Mortenson.

Denver Water is using its audit rights to review documents and other information from the companies, according to Thompson. Both companies are cooperating, he said.

CEO Lochhead promised in his statement to “take any actions necessary to protect the investment our customers have made in this project and to ensure the integrity of future Denver Water procurements.”

Trammell Crow was expected to make roughly $5 million from the project, while Mortenson’s contract was worth nearly $200 million, a sum that had to cover construction materials and other costs, according to public records.

Trammell Crow was quick to assure Denver Water it could finish the project after the convention center issues became public and it fired Sullivan.

“We’re confident in our ability to continue managing all portions of the project going forward,” a Trammell Crow employee wrote in an email last month.

Neither Sullivan nor Kuntz could be reached for comment. The Denver District Attorney’s Office, which is reviewing the convention center case, has not responded to a request for comment about the Denver Water project.

“Mortenson values its partnership with Denver Water and are proud of the work we have completed together over the past four years,” said Maja Rosenquist, Mortenson’s regional leader, in a statement to The Denver Post. “We have pledged to fully support their internal review.”

Trammell Crow also has promised its cooperation.

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