1873 founder william h. gilbane headquarters 7 jackson walkway providence ri number of locations 25 offices in the us massachusetts connecticut new york new jersey maryland virginia ohio georgia alabama florida michigan illinois california washington oregon texas missouri pennsylvania north carolina south carolina key people thomas f. gilbane jr. chairman william j. gilbane jr. coo robert v. gilbane president of development michael e. mckelvy ceo products preconstruction consulting logistics services consulting revenue 4 billion 2007 number of employees 2 000 2009 divisions green building healthcare pharmaceutical biotechnology sports transportation aviation website 1 gilbane inc. based in providence rhode island is a family owned national construction and real estate development company . forbes ranked gilbane as the 108th largest privately held company in the united states in 2006 with estimated revenues of 2.83 billion . gilbane building company is one of the nation s oldest builders . the company was founded in 1873 by william h. gilbane and his brother thomas as a family run carpentry and general contracting shop in providence rhode island . originally known as william h. gilbane and brother the firm quickly developed building some of the homes in providence . new projects soon followed including churches hospitals and other public buildings that are still in use today . in the early 1900s william h. gilbane took control of the company and steered it through the lean times of the great depression . in the 1930s his sons thomas f. gilbane and william j. gilbane joined the company and made gilbane s reputation as a pioneer in construction management first with major defense projects during world war ii and then with the smithsonian s national air and space museum which opened on time and budget in washington d.c. on july 4 1976 . in 1970 gilbane expanded its services and formed the development of a sister company known as gilbane development company . today fourth and fifth generation members of the family lead the company which has more than 50 offices worldwide . paul j. choquette jr. son of third generation family member virginia gilbane choquette is vice chairman of gilbane inc. thomas f. gilbane jr. is chairman and ceo and william j. gilbane jr. is vice chairman of gilbane building company . robert v. gilbane is chairman and ceo of gilbane development company . michael mckelvy is ceo of gilbane building company . gilbane has been family owned and operated throughout its entire history . the harvard business review says customers prefer family run companies . 1 contents 1 notable projects 2 ethics 3 recent industry awards and recognition 4 allegations of gilbane public ethics violations and improper bidding 5 references 6 sources 7 external links notable projects edit during the past two decades gilbane has completed a number notable public projects including lake placid winter olympics facilities lake placid ny cleveland museum of art campus expansion & renovation in 2002 the museum embarked on a 350 million capital campaign to dramatically modify the institution s blueprint while reorganizing and renewing the presentation of its unrivaled collection . the 12 000 square foot interactive learning center was reopened to the public in 2013 . vietnam veterans memorial washington d.c. 2 the vietnam veteran s memorial fund vvmf incorporated in 1979 was a nonprofit organization created to establish a national memorial in washington dc to honor and recognize american veterans of the vietnam war . on july 1 1980 the government by a unanimous joint resolution of congress authorized the vvmf to establish the memorial on two acres of national park land in constitution gardens near the lincoln memorial in 1982 . discovery world science & technology at pier wisconsin located on the shore of lake michigan in downtown milwaukee the sustainably designed discovery world is an interactive exploration center with exhibits aquariums amphitheater and more . the 120 000 square foot facility includes interactive exhibits the reiman aquarium a digital theater learning labs live theater shows and more . smithsonian institution s national air & space museum washington d.c. the national archives college park md us strategic petroleum reserve for the department of energy new orleans la o hare international airport terminal 5 chicago il union station restoration washington d.c. u. s. department of justice washington d.c. world war ii memorial washington d.c. 3 a memorial built in 2004 to commemorate service to world war ii veterans on the mall in washington dc . the memorial includes two entry arches a wall of commemorative stars a water feature lighting and engraved stone to honor those who have served . us capitol visitors center washington d.c. george r. brown convention center houston tx prudential center the rock new jersey devils arena newark nj family business magazine ranks gilbane as the 64th largest family business in the united states . engineering news record ranked gilbane building company as the 5th largest construction manager in the united states in 2007 . ethics edit gilbane building company publishes ethics hotline online gilbane s anonymous ethics hotline is now available for all clients subcontractors vendors and other partners to maintain open channels of communication and transparency in reporting any situations or concerns gilbane building company who has long held an ethics hotline for its employees has published the hotline numbers to their company website . this proactive approach ensures easy access to this important and anonymous tool for all its clients subcontractors vendors and other partners . to cultivate a highly ethical culture and create open channels of communication gilbane maintains the hotline numbers which can be used to report any situation where there are concerns or questions about ethical procedures . reports to the hotline receive immediate and confidential attention from brad gordon gilbane s chief ethics officer and general counsel . 4 recent industry awards and recognition edit gilbane wins prestigious curt construction industry safety excellence award training magazine names gilbane in top 125 best practice programs associated builders and contractors recognizes gilbane for national safety excellence award http www.abc.org en us membership memberawards nationalsafetyexcellenceaward.aspxexcellence gilbane building company earns two merit awards from engineering news record southeast best projects gilbane recognized by associated general contractors of massachusetts with 2015 mass merit award 2 gilbane federal was honored by navfac s commander lagerquist public works officer camp lemmonier djibouti africa with aletter of appreciation for project p686 power plant upgrades for professionalism and commitment to safety 3 allegations of gilbane public ethics violations and improper bidding edit over the last 15 years gilbane building company has been involved in a number of cases involving allegations of government ethics violations or improper bidding for public work . in four of these cases public officials were charged with accepting improper gifts from gilbane while the firm was either performing work for their agency or pursuing a contract for work with the agency . as a company gilbane itself has only been charged in a couple of these cases and one was dismissed on a technicality . however government officials in california arizona connecticut and ohio have been terminated caused to resign and or faced civil penalties in connection with ethics scandals involving gilbane . and in one instance a former gilbane executive admitted to lavishing public school district officials with gifts avoiding felony charges only by agreeing to a plea deal . this trail of public corruption raises serious questions about gilbane and its methods of procuring public works jobs . the cases include 2012 former gilbane executive pleads guilty in the largest public corruption case of its kind in san diego county . 5 1 in march 2012 former gilbane executive henry amigable pled guilty to charges that he bought expensive meals tickets to high profile events and other gifts for members of the san diego area sweetwater union high school district to convince the officials to award school construction contracts to gilbane and later to two other firms . 6 according to one press outlet amigable s expense reports to gilbane building co. show that he brought various sweetwater officials to a san diego fine dining establishment at least 18 times spending more than 8 000 on the officials in the months leading up to gilbane being unanimously awarded a three year 7.5 million contract . 7 according to the san diego county district attorney s office other gifts amigable produced for sweetwater officials while working for gilbane in 2006 and 2007 included dinner and drinks at various restaurants ; as well as tickets to a san diego chargers football game to two different showings of the musical jersey boys at the san diego civic center and to the rose bowl football game . the latter allegedly also came with a two night s stay for two officials at the biltmore hotel in los angeles . 8 by pleading guilty amigable avoided felony charges of offering a bribe and obtaining a thing of value to influence a member of a legislative body . 9 he was sentenced to three year s probation a 1 000 fine and 100 hours of community service . 10 in 2014 the sweetwater school district filed a lawsuit seeking the return of 26 million in taxpayer funds paid to a joint venture of gilbane and sgi construction pursuant to construction contracts awarded around the time of amigable s alleged illicit gifts . 11 in february 2016 a california appeals court denied the motion of gilbane and sgi to dismiss the case on the ground that the gifts constituted protected free speech and ruled that the school district has demonstrated a probability of prevailing on its claim . 12 2012 gilbane gifts cited in phoenix area ethics scandal . in december 2012 11 employees of maricopa country were placed on administrative leave following an internal investigation revealing that the employees had violated the county s ethics policies by accepting improper gifts from contracted vendors including gilbane . 13 gilbane was at the time constructing a 340 million criminal court tower for the county . 14 in march 2010 gilbane was awarded a separate 37 million contract to complete the court tower s interior . 15 five employees resigned one was terminated and three were suspended in connection with the investigation . 16 2013 florida college throws out gilbane award after rival firm alleges improper bidding . in april 2013 st. petersburg college in florida canceled the selection of gilbane for a 14 million contract to construct a new campus building after rival builder peter r. brown construction inc. protested that the college s president had ignored the recommendations of a college selection committee and personally chosen gilbane even though the selection committee had ranked gilbane s proposal last out of three bidders . 17 the college denied that the bidders had been ranked . ultimately a third firm lema construction was awarded the job . 18 2010 committee funded by gilbane and other firms cited for illinois elections rule violations . in november 2010 gilbane was connected with another political impropriety this time involving election rule citations by the illinois state board of elections . a referendum was passed approving the sale of 168 million in bonds to fund construction and renovations at a chicago area community college . 19 gilbane was among the largest donors to the supporters of college of dupage a ballot initiative committee that supported the referendum . 20 gilbane was the construction manager the oversaw the recent completion of the college s health and science center . other donors to the group had also done business with college . 21 the state elections board ruled that the political committee violated elections rules by failing to disclose its identity on campaign signs advocating for the referendum s passage . 22 2005 connecticut state ethics commission penalizes gilbane for unlawful gifts . in june 2005 gilbane agreed to a settlement with the connecticut state ethics commission for unlawful gifts to public officials . 23 the commission charged that in 2002 while gilbane was