Government has obligation to consider bidder's history

Girard has struck a blow for all governments in the Mahoning Valley -- or at least those concerned about their reputations -- by telling James Matash, president of M & amp;M Excavating Co. of Warren, to take a hike.
Matash, who was sentenced to a year in prison in 2001 for unlawfully acquiring a government contract in Warren, is threatening, through his lawyer, to sue Girard because his company was not awarded the contract for a sanitary sewer project.
M & amp;M submitted the low bid of $24,800, which was $1,400 less than the one submitted by A.P. O'Horo Co. of Liberty. But state law requires government contracts to go to the "lowest and best" bidders, and given Matash's background we're pleased that Mayor James A. Melfi was not cowered by the lawsuit threat.
It doesn't surprise us that Melfi was being coy when he explained the decision to Vindicator Reporter Tim Yovich. After all, whatever he says will be used in court if a lawsuit is filed.
Melfi told Yovich that the board of control, made up of the mayor and safety and service directors, followed the recommendation of Girard's engineering consultant, Burgess & amp; Niple, in awarding the contract to O'Horo. He contended that O'Horo submitted the best bid based on performance.
Girard Service Director Rex Funge had said earlier this week that he "really wasn't happy" with work Matash's company, M & amp;M, had done for the city.
Funge also said he was opposed to the company's getting the contract because Matash is a felon.
While saying that the conviction did not play a role in the board of control's decision on the sanitary sewer project, the mayor conceded that Funge's concern "certainly has merit."
Truth
It's about time that companies doing business or seeking to do business with governments in the Mahoning Valley face this truth: A government contract is not a right. It's a privilege, and once you bribe a public official, you've lost the privilege of sharing in the largess.
Matash reportedly paid $5,000 to James Lapmardo, a Warren building official at the time, to get a demolition contract. Lapmardo, who left his job in 2002, is scheduled to be sentenced July 1 in federal court on a charge of racketeering.
Indeed, last year, Melfi decided not to award a contract to DPM because its owners, Dante Massacci of Warren and his son, Dante Jr., were awaiting sentencing on criminal charges. The Massaccis were convicted of paying a Warren building official $70,000 to a get a demolition contract.
Father and son were subsequently each sentenced to a year in prison.
Funge noted that it was Matash who pointed out that the Massaccis were awaiting sentencing at the time the contract for the waterline project was being let. Matash's company, M & amp;M, was awarded the contract for the work.
The company should not have been considered for the government contract given the owner's criminal record, but at the time Melfi probably thought that what Matash had done was less egregious than the crimes committed by the Massaccis.
However, in light of the ongoing federal, state and local investigations into government corruption in the Mahoning Valley, the city of Girard, like all other public entities in the region, must consider the ramifications of ignoring a bidder's criminal background.
If Matash and others of his ilk seek redemption, they should look for it in the private sector.