County Reimbursed For Fuel Corruption Costs

Dade County will receive $2.5 million in damages and restitution to help cover the costs of fuel thefts, inflated contractor bills and various other forms of corruption that occurred at the Miami International Airport’s (MIA) fuel farm. Up to 30,000 gallon of jet fuel per month were stolen and sold on the black market while the farm was run by ASIG Miami, a subsidiary of Airport Services International Group. According to the Miami Herald, ASIG’s fuel farm supervisor took part in some of the scams and is now a cooperating witness for the prosecution. Eighteen people have been arrested and five companies are facing criminal charges. ASIG management claimed to be unaware of the corruption, which, in addition to the fuel thefts, involved contractors billing inflated amounts for work that was never performed. The company is also planning to plead no contest to a fraud charge this week in an agreement that will be formalized in court. “The company immediately began cooperating with the State Attorney’s Office and did its best to clean house,” ASIG lawyer Ben Kuehne told the Herald.