AFTER FEASTING ON COMPADRISMO, TSC SECURITY FIRM SUES

By Juan Montoya
A security company chosen over others based on inside connections who then was underbid for the lucrative $400,000 contract has sued Texas Southmost College claiming the lowest bidder had...inside connections.
Flores Investments  Inc. d/b/a American Investigations and Security International has asked a county court-at-law to issue a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction against the college district and trustees charging that the awarding of the contract for the 2015-2016 to American Surveillance and Security Corporation, of Brownsville should be deemed void and enjoined.
As a result of the restraining order, (Dan) Flores and AISI has continue to service the contract estimated to garner him about $10,000 per week until the court reaches a decision.
"By filing for the TRO and continuing to get paid the cash, Flores in effect is having the taxpayers of the district pay for the continuation of the lawsuit," said a source close to the board of trustees. "He was not the lowest bidder but he wants the district to continue paying some $150,000 more per year than the lowest bidder."
According to the lawsuit, Flores, on August 2013, he was contacted by Chet Lewis, TSC's Vice President of Finance and Administration who claimed that the 24-hour security services were being terminated as a result of the TSC-UTB partnership separation. He said that Lewis cited the urgency of the matter and wanted services provided that very day.
In the lawsuit, Flores claimed that his company's "unique" qualifications prompted Lewis to contract him.
Our sources indicate differently. They say that Lewis asked aTSC attorney if he could recommend a security company to replace the security service under the partnership and that the attorney – citing the fact that Flores attended the same church he did – recommended Flores' outfit.
Also, Flores had a close relationship with a former TSC trustee who advocated on his behalf.
In newspaper reports at the time, Lewis told reporters that  the company began patrolling the campus on Sept. 20 at a cost of $11,000 per week with the company using its own vehicles. That cost would be reduced to about $9,000 per week when TSC provides golf carts for patrols, he said.
AISI as given a 30-day contract that would automatically renew unless the college gave a 30-day notice of termination of services, Lewis said.
Then, on Oct. 7, 2013, TSC issued a Request For Proposals which was answered by about 10 security companies.
The bids submitted showed that Flores' AISI was not the lowest bidder. The company named in the current lawsuit, American Surveillance, was about $147,382 lower.

Yet, as was reported at the time, Flores' AISI was picked on Lewis' justifications that the company "knew" the college.
The newspaper at the time said that the trustees chose the company that’s already been at TSC because of the firm’s familiarity with the campus.
“The company that is providing services for us right now knows the campus,” then-board member Rene Torres said.
“They’ve been providing the service and they’ve been responsive to us and I’ve seen a high level of activity here on campus,” Lewis said.
This, according to Flores in his lawsuit against TSC, gave his company "an edge" over the other firm which cost taxpayers an additional $150,000.
Voting in favor were Trustees Ramon Champion Hinojosa and Dr. Reynaldo Garcia.
Board chair Francisco “Kiko” Rendon abstained. In a phone interview, Rendon said he abstained because he has a relationship with the company but did not elaborate.
Absent from the meeting were Trustees Adela Garza and Rene Torres.
Lewis said that by running a few scenarios, he expected the cost for AISI would be approximately $296,000 a year.
The evaluations of each company, Lewis said, were made based on four factors: services offered to TSC, project team and management, references for the companies and the cost of each company.
“Typically when you do an RFP (request for proposals), you see a higher rating on the cost,” he told the newspaper, adding that in this case it was different because the security services provided are unique to each company compared to a request for proposals for computers which are all the same.
And so things went until the initial contract ended on August 2014, a year later. At the time, TSC did not give the company notice of the termination of the contract and AISI automatically received a new one-year contract at the same rates.
But a Texas Open Records information request revealed that in contrast to the $296,000 estimate by Lewis, AISI received more than $400,000, closer to its original estimate and about $140,000 more than the lowest bidder in 2013.
At $11,000, it would cost the college district taxpayer $572,000 a year ($11,000 times 52).
At $9,000, it cost the college district taxpayer $468,000, suspiciously close to its initial $444,164.
This year, with new members on the TSC board, the district again went out for bids. AISI's contract was to terminate on June 30, 2015. If the automatic clause were to go into effect, its contract would extend to April 28, 2016.
In June, TSC considered the bids on the security contract and chose the lowest bid (American Surveillance) on July 17. Again, American Surveillance's bid was about $150,000 lower than Flores' outfit.
The TSC trustees voted to go with the lowest bid and awarded the contract to American Surveillance. This led to the Flores lawsuit claiming that he should automatically get the contract and that the contract was issued due to the influence of trustee Hinojosa (who voted for him in the first vote for temporary services).
Jaime Escobeo, listed in the lawsuit as owner of lowest bidder American Surveillance, said he would not comment on the ongoing lawsuit.
However, Flores, who got his foot in the door due to his religious affiliation with a TSC attorney and the protection of a former TSC trustee, now blames Hinojosa for championing American Surveillance. And, despite their low bid, wants the court to award him the $370,812 for the remainder of the 2015 contract plus attorney's fees.
Until then, because of the Temporary Restraining Order, Flores will continue to receive his monthly $9,000 weekly from district taxpayers and American Surveillance, who was the lowest bidder, will still not be allowed on the TSC campus.