Moskowitz’s job at firm accused of hurricane price-gouging resurfaces

In 2017, Moskowitz, in his capacity under AshBritt, requested a price increase on Sept. 28 for the company’s contract with the city of Parkland, Florida. The request came 18 days after Hurricane Irma, a category four storm, smashed into Florida, killing 84 people and causing more than $50 billion in damage.

At the time, Moskowitz and AshBritt chief executive Randy Perkins described the increase as based on market standards, citing market destabilization from the natural disasters. Florida and much of the southeastern United States experienced supply chain disruptions due to the “quick succession” of Hurricanes Irma, Harvey, and Maria, according to a study by the National Library of Medicine. 

The Government Accountability Office notes that the supply chain disruptions led to price increases from contractors “due to the high demand across Texas and other parts of Florida in the aftermath of the hurricanes.”

Still, according to Parkland City Commission meeting minutes on Sept. 28, commissioners felt “as though they were being held hostage” by the price increase. Parkland’s then-Mayor Christine Hunschofsky also expressed concern that the request was received late. 

National Republican Congressional Committee Spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole alleged in a statement that Moskowitz has “made a living out of squeezing taxpayers and stiffing workers all while lining his own pockets.” 

“Lazy little Jared Moskowitz doesn’t care about defending those he purports to represent,” O’Toole wrote. “That’s not the representative Floridians deserve, and they’ll send him into retirement this November.”

Moskowitz declined to comment on this story. 

AshBritt, in a motion to quash a subpoena issued by Bondi, said, “While the Attorney General vaguely – and wrongly – accuses Ashbritt of price gouging, the facts reveal no foundation for the Subpoena or for the Attorney General’s unreasonable demand for an enormous production of tens of thousands of documents.”

AshBritt denied wrongdoing. In its motion to quash the subpoena, the company argued that it was not seeking “unconscionable” prices from the municipalities it served and claimed its pricing structure was consistent with market conditions at the time and “well below the state-approved price for debris removal.”

Ultimately, AshBritt dropped its price increase request, telling the city commissioners on Oct. 11, amid the attorney general’s inquiry, that “conditions have changed yet again,” and the company would honor the original pricing agreed to with the city. 

Local governments in disaster relief zones are reimbursed for recovery costs by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, with contracts subject to audits by both the Office of Inspector General and FEMA. 

The controversy over the attempted price hike in Parkland was not the issue lobbed at AshBritt during Moskowtiz’s tenure with the company.

AshBritt was accused of “not performing under terms” of its debris removal contract in Monroe County, Florida, in the wake of Irma. Monroe County Mayor George Neugent specifically said the company failed to provide the agreed-upon number of trucks to help expedite post-hurricane cleanup.

At the time, Perkins reportedly told commissioners conflicting contracts from state managers “caused the absolute chaos and pandemonium in the Keys.”

“Every truck that came in was poached by one of the FDOT contractors,” Perkins told the commissioners. “We’re paying a certain rate and [other contractors] can double or triple the rates we can pay.”

AshBritt also received complaints for work they did in California after the 2017 wildfires and in New Jersey in 2013. 

In New Jersey, AshBritt was awarded a contract without bidding by then-Gov. Chris Christie’s administration to help remove debris from Hurricane Sandy. The company expected to make more than $100 million off the contract.  

Yet a local outlet, Asbury Park Press, found that AshBritt was charging nearly double what another Florida company charged for its services. The contract award was heavily scrutinized at the time and was subject to a federal audit, though no wrongdoing was found. 

In California, the company was among the targets of complaints from residents alleging that AshBritt, along with other hauling companies, paid by weight, dug up more dirt than necessary to inflate their earnings. 

The complaints resulted in a lawsuit, in which AshBritt and another firm were accused of directing “workers under their control to commit such fraud on the United States government for the purpose of increasing their respective profits.”

The Washington Examiner has reached out to AshBritt for comment. 

Dan Franzese, who is running in the GOP primary to face off against Moskowitz in November, said in a statement that it is “not surprising that Jared Moskowitz put personal and company profit ahead of vulnerable Floridians,” pointing to stock trades by Moskowitz. 

JARED MOSKOWITZ LAUNCHES BID IN COMPETITIVE FLORIDA DISTRICT REDRAWN UNDER NEW DESANTIS MAP

He continued, “There’s clearly a pattern of Moskowitz putting himself first and Floridians last.”

Moskowitz is facing socialist Oliver Larkin in Florida’s Democratic primary on Aug. 18.