World Trade Center Clean-Up

In October 2001, Getnick & Getnick LLP was appointed by the New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) to act as the Project Integrity Compliance Monitor for one of the four construction companies responsible for the World Trade Center disaster site clean-up following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

Getnick & Getnick LLP was tasked with the prevention and detection of fraudulent, wasteful, and/or abusive practices by the monitored company and all of its subcontractors and suppliers, involving over thirty different companies. Initially, this project required a 24-7 on-site presence at Ground Zero as well as significant off-site activity, and the firm assembled a large team of investigators and forensic accountants at very short notice to respond effectively to the emergency. Getnick & Getnick LLP has implemented a multi-disciplinary monitorship model emphasizing deterrence, detection and documentation, utilizing the services of investigators and forensic accountants. The full team included more than forty people.

Getnick & Getnick LLP team uncovered and/or investigated actual or potential fraudulent behavior relating to billing, state labor law compliance, and other areas.

In July 2006, Neil V. Getnick testified before Congress on the subject of the World Trade Center disaster site clean-up.  Subsequently, a Subcommittee of the House Committee on Homeland Security issued a report entitled, “An Examination of Federal 9/11 Assistance to New York: Lessons Learned in Preventing Waste, Fraud, Abuse, and Lax Management.”  The report identifies IPSIGs as a “Best Practice,” concluding that: “High-ranking officials in the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General said debris-removal work has always posed oversight problems for FEMA, but the removal of debris from Ground Zero was among the agency’s best projects.  In the Subcommittee’s judgment, that success resulted from the presence of private integrity monitors and occurred in spite of very challenging conditions.”