The owner of a defunct Illinois trucking company has been sent to prison and ordered to pay $273,118 to former drivers for falsifying payroll on a federal contract.
The federal court of Southern District of Illinois sentenced William Patrick Pat Clark, 40, of Worden to 33 months of incarceration, $1,000 special assessment and three years supervised release Jan. 24. Last September, a district jury found the former owner and operator Clark Trucking and Excavation guilty of ten felony counts of making false statements after nine ex-drivers testified at his trial.
Clark also had signed a sworn affidavit claiming satisfaction of federal wage law for the $1.6 million the East St. Louis company was paid for Interstate 64 project.
The prevailing wage would have been 35.45 per hour, but drivers received about $15 per hour, according to the district’s U.S. attorney office. The federal Davis-Bacon Act requires prevailing wages be paid by contractors and subcontractors on federally funded or assisted contracts in excess of $2,000 regarding public buildings or public works.
