Elementary School Construction Project Subcontractor Has Reputed Chicago Syndicate Ties

A company with alleged ties to Chicago organized crime has been brought on as a subcontractor for a Park Ridge elementary school construction project.

A green dumpster belonging to D&P Construction recently appeared outside Field School, 707 Wisner St., ahead of an air conditioning, heating and ventilation project slated to occur this summer.

Scott Mackall, Director of Facility Management for Park Ridge-Niles School District 64, said he was told D&P is providing only the dumpster for the project and was subcontracted by Palatine-based Bergen Construction Corporation, which is the company performing the bulk of the work. “We’re writing [Bergen] the checks,” Mackall said.

The Better Government Association reported in 2012 that the FBI believes D&P Construction is run by two brothers with Chicago mob connections: Peter DiFronzo and John “No Nose” DiFronzo. During the 2007 “Family Secrets” mob trial in Chicago, the BGA said John DiFronzo was implicated in the murders of two mob brothers, but was not charged with a crime.

According to a 2008 report by the BGA and the Chicago Sun-Times, D&P “was the focus of a Gaming Board disciplinary case that stopped Emerald Casino Inc. from building a floating gambling barge in Rosemont in 2001.” The report also stated that the Gaming Board “linked D&P to individuals who have been identified as known members of organized crime.”

D&P Construction has been used on projects for a number of Chicago Public Schools, according to a 2011 investigation by the BGA and Fox 32.

Mackall said he was unaware of the allegations of mob ties and D&P Construction. “I’ve never heard that at all,” he said.

A representative from Bergen Construction could not be immediately reached for comment.

The Field School construction project, slated to be complete by Aug. 8, will install air conditioning in the school, in addition to heating and ventilation upgrades and asbestos abatement. Field is the last of the District 64 schools to receive air conditioning.

The project, said Mackall, came in under budget at $4.5 million. The contract awarded in February identified the total cost at $5.33 million.

“The bids came in very competitive. They were quite a bit lower than we anticipated,” Mackall said.

Other building projects slated to occur around the district this summer include security upgrades at each school building costing a total of $337,425. The upgrades consist of security cameras on school property, changes in door access and a system that will run the driver’s licenses or state IDs of building visitors through a registered sex offender database.

Thanks to Jennifer Johnson.