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Firm's owner is accused of fraud

By CARRIE WEIMAR
Published October 27, 2006

TAMPA - The owner of a Tampa construction company who was convicted of bribery while building the Suncoast Parkway is in trouble again.

Michael Cone, 50, the owner of Cone Construction Inc., was charged with conspiracy and bankruptcy fraud, among other charges, for trying to hide assets during bankruptcy proceedings, authorities said.

If convicted, Cone could face up to 30 years in prison and a $1-million fine.

His wife, Joanne Cone, 50, and an employee, Patricia Rankin Grable, 52, also were charged in the indictment, which was unsealed Thursday.

Cone Construction was once one of the state's 10 largest road builders. Michael is a third-generation member of a Hillsborough family in construction.

The current charges stem from his last brush with the law, when he was charged with exchanging money with a public official to manipulate the building of toll roads, including stretches of the Veterans Expressway and Suncoast Parkway in 1999.

Cone pleaded no contest to charges of bribery and money laundering to avoid a trial and a possible 20-year prison sentence. As part of his plea agreement, he was also banned from seeking or accepting more work from the DOT for the next four years.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Cone and the other defendants allegedly began concealing more than $1-million in property after Cone Construction filed for Chapter 11 in July 2000.

They accomplished this by transferring the property to other companies controlled by Cone or the other defendants, according to the indictment.

The FBI is investigating the case.

Carrie Weimar can be reached at 813 226-3416 or cweimar@sptimes.com.

[Last modified October 27, 2006, 00:29:01]