Pontiac, Michigan — May 24, 2025 — A former president of a Michigan asphalt paving company has been sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to pay a $500,000 fine for his involvement in a long-running bid rigging scheme that defrauded customers and undermined fair competition in the state’s asphalt paving industry.
Daniel L. Israel, the former president of Asphalt Specialists LLC (ASI), based in Pontiac, was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty in October 2023 to conspiring with Al’s Asphalt Paving Company Inc. and others to manipulate bids on paving contracts. The conspiracy, which spanned from 2013 to 2018, involved competitors submitting sham bids to ensure predetermined contract winners.
Israel is one of seven individuals, along with three companies, charged in an ongoing federal investigation into anticompetitive practices in the asphalt services sector. The investigation has so far resulted in over $8.2 million in criminal fines, including a $6.5 million penalty against ASI last year.
“Economic crime — like bid rigging — is no less harmful than violent crime,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners will continue to ensure that individuals who cheat and deprive the public of the benefits of competition are incarcerated.”
The scheme targeted contracts across Michigan, including work for the U.S. Postal Service and other public entities. According to court documents, the companies colluded to submit artificially high bids from the losing party, giving the illusion of competition while secretly agreeing on a winner.
“This sentencing marks an important milestone in holding accountable those responsible for this flagrant bid rigging scheme,” said Anthony Licari, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General.
Tammy Hull, Inspector General of the U.S. Postal Service, emphasized the seriousness of the offense: “Criminal activities such as bid rigging are a serious offense that undermine the principles of fair competition and harm our communities. This type of behavior will not be tolerated.”
Additional executives from both ASI and Al’s Asphalt have also pleaded guilty, with prosecutions continuing as federal authorities pursue remaining leads. The case is being led by the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office, with assistance from the Department of Transportation OIG and the U.S. Postal Service OIG.
Source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-president-asphalt-paving-company-sentenced-bid-rigging
