Despite Probe, Motorola Wins Big Radio Contract : Supervisors: Award is made as criminal inquiry continues into rival firm Harris Corp.’s claims of a rigged bidding process.
Even as they await the outcome of a criminal investigation into allegations of a rigged bidding process, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday awarded an $80-million contract for a law enforcement radio system to giant Motorola Communications Inc.
The board’s decision came after officials representing a competing firm--Harris Corp.--assailed the county’s contractual process as riddled with improprieties and set up to favor communications giant Motorola.
“This process has been flawed from the outset,” Harris Corp. Vice President Lewis Kling told the supervisors Tuesday.
In October, supervisors tentatively awarded the contract to Harris, but county officials Tuesday found that the company had failed to satisfy seven technical standards necessary for completion of the project.
The state-of-the-art radio system would link all law enforcement, fire and public works departments to one communications system. It is seen as a key component in the county’s overall disaster preparedness.
The Orange County district attorney’s office is reviewing Harris’ complaints about how the contract was awarded, Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Maury Evans confirmed Tuesday. Harris alleges that technical standards in the contract were designed so that only Motorola could meet them.
Evans said that the board vote in favor of Motorola would have no bearing on the investigation.
The contract process has been a matter of controversy for months, since General Services Agency Director R.A. Scott claimed that Sheriff Brad Gates had talked to him at least three times about giving Harris a “fair shot” at the project. Harris had employed the sheriff’s political ally, San Juan Capistrano Councilman Gary L. Hausdorfer, on the project.
Gates has denied contacting Scott on Hausdorfer’s behalf.
On Tuesday, Kling asked that a final decision be delayed until the competing proposals could be reviewed by “an unbiased” third party and offered to help finance such a study for up to at least $25,000.
Supervisors, however, rejected the Harris request and voted unanimously to award the project to Motorola. But the action came with a warning: “If the other shoe drops in the D.A.’s office,” Supervisor Roger R. Stanton said, “I will pull this back for independent review.”
Supervisors William G. Steiner and Harriett M. Wieder also said they now view the project as “clouded” and suggested they could reconsider their decisions should Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi’s office uncover any wrongdoing.
Motorola consultant Randy Smith said that while the company was “pleased with the outcome,” he was disappointed that “Harris took the opportunity to malign some very good people.
“There hasn’t been any kind of thing going on that Harris has been talking about,” Smith said. “I don’t expect anything to come of their lies.”
Kling and Harris’ attorney, Randall L. Erickson, Tuesday accused a county-paid consultant--C.S.I. Telecommunications of San Francisco--of conspiring with Motorola officials to develop technical standards for the massive project that no other company but Motorola could meet.
C.S.I. Vice President Michael Newman has repeatedly declined to comment about the allegations.
Harris officials have also accused county staffers of leaking confidential documents concerning the Harris proposal to Motorola during the hotly competitive contractual review process.
Motorola and county officials acknowledge that the documents were “mistakenly” faxed to Motorola. But, they said, Harris was immediately notified of the incident. GSA director Scott said the documents had no bearing on the contract award.
Kling has turned the allegations over to the district attorney’s office for investigation. Additionally, Kling and Erickson have questioned county GSA communications engineer Gary Gray’s alleged relationship with Motorola. Gray was listed as a guest speaker for a Motorola-sponsored seminar in Santa Barbara last September while the project was under review.
Gray could not be reached for comment, but Scott said earlier this week that Gray never attended the event.
