Merced contractor’s arraignment on corruption charges continued

The Monday morning arraignment for Merced-area contractor Gregory J. Opinski on charges of bribing Los Banos school board members was continued to Oct. 19.

Opinski, the 54-year-old owner of Greg Opinski Construction and a former candidate for the state Assembly, is charged with paying off at least one Los Banos trustee in connection with the expansion of Mercey Springs Elementary School.

Opinski may also face a suspension or revocation of his contracting license.

According to records from the Department of Consumer Affairs Contractors State License Board, a complaint of violation was filed Sept. 16.

Opinski is facing four felony counts of bribing public officials, one felony count of aiding and abetting an official in becoming financially invested in a project, and a felony count of conflict of interest.

The arraignment is continued to 8:30 a.m. Oct. 19 in Courtroom 3 in the Merced Superior Courthouse.

The complaint made on behalf of the Contractors’ State License Board will also be heard, Deputy Attorney General Joshua B. Eisenberg wrote to the Sun-Star in an email.

The license board complaint, filed by the state Attorney General’s Office with the Merced Superior Court, claims that “Defendant’s alleged crimes demonstrate an intent to substantially benefit himself and his contractor’s business through the use of fraud, deceit, and dishonesty, and are thus substantially related to the qualifications, functions and duties as a licensed contractor.”

The complaint goes on to state, “Because of the allegations in this case, CSLB requests conditions restricting defendant from activity as a contractor.”

Opinski’s case is tied to the case of Los Banos school district trustee Tommy Jones, who also is charged with corruption.

Jones is charged with two felony counts of bribing public officials and one felony count of conflict of interest. Jones’ arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 7.

Authorities said a 10-month investigation revealed that Opinski paid and offered bribes to Los Banos school board members for their support in granting him the construction manager contract for the Mercey Springs Elementary School addition, estimated to cost up to $7 million.

District Attorney Larry Morse II said Los Banos school board trustee Dominic Falasco brought the crimes to his attention in October, prompting the District Attorney’s Office to open the investigation.

Officials said Falasco secretly recorded conversations between himself, Opinski and Jones discussing the contract.

The contract was controversial on the Los Banos school board. Hanford-based Bush Construction offered a lower bid than Opinski and was recommended by the board facilities committee.

However, the board in a 4-3 vote awarded Opinski the contract. Jones and Falasco voted in favor, along with school board members Carole Duffy and Marlene Smith. Officials said Falasco voted in favor of the contract on the direction of investigators.

Opinski, also a member of the Merced high school district school board, was recently censured by that school district’s board for an unrelated incident in which he threatened district administrators and demanded access to the district’s email servers.

The 4-1 censure vote – Opinski casting the dissenting vote – was a public denouncement on Opinski’s actions. The censure ordered him not to meet with district staff, funneling all communication through Superintendent Alan Peterson.

This story was originally published September 26, 2016 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Merced contractor’s arraignment on corruption charges continued."