Charges: Bid-Rigging Scheme Targeted Olmsted County Project

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Mower County man has been accused of attempting to swindle Olmsted County through a bid-rigging scheme.

The criminal complaint filed against 45-year-old Matthew Kenneth Long alleges that he proposed to a competitor that they conspire to inflate their bids for a turbine repair project at the Olmsted County Waste-to-Energy Facility in southeast Rochester. The court document says the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the Brownsdale man after receiving a report about suspected fraudulent activity in August 2023.

Business Competitor Reported Attempted Contract Fix

The charges against Long say a business competitor contacted the Sheriff’s Office and reported that Long had attempted to influence an employee to bid higher on the project. Long allegedly offered to pay the employee in cash if his company was awarded the bid. The criminal complaint says Long was the manager of AAA Machining and Millwrights and was the last person to work on the turbine that needed repairs.

According to the criminal complaint, the employee of the competitor told the investigator that Long approached him and explained his “off the record” idea. He stated that the plan called for the competitor to submit a $300,000 bid while Long would submit a $250,000 bid and pay the other man $25,000 in cash for submitting the higher bid if Long was awarded the contract.

Recorded Calls Detail Alleged Cash Kickback Plan

The court document says that led an official with the competitor’s company to call Long and record the conversation. The complaint says Long was recorded explaining the alleged bid-rigging and cash kickback scheme while stressing that the conversation was “off the record,” adding, “we can’t talk about it with customers or anything like that.” It’s also alleged that in another recorded conversation, Long stated, “we won’t talk about it except for on a personal phone call, all right? … Because of government contracts, you’ve got to be real careful.”

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Text Messages Included as Evidence in Complaint

The evidence listed in the criminal complaint also includes screenshots of text messages allegedly sent by Long to an employee of the competitor, accusing him of lying after the competitor ultimately submitted a bid for about $131,000, while Long’s bid came in at $174,500.

The charging document says Long was interviewed by investigators this August and denied the allegations, saying, “No, that’s crookedness, and I would never even dream of doing that.”

Long is charged with felony counts of attempted theft by swindle, commercial bribery, and attempted bid rigging.

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