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West Jersey charged and collected were between 10 to 40 percent
of the originally quoted price for the overbilled items.
However, Short testified that their overbilling and kickback
arrangement applied only with respect to specially fabricated items
that Short ordered on behalf of B.F. Shaw, and not to stock items.
Neither Mr. Walker or Short could provide a precise breakdown with
respect to how much of Short's purchases on behalf of B.F. Shaw
consisted of specially fabricated items, as opposed to stock items.
Short related only that B.F. Shaw purchased more specially fabricated
items than stock items. No specific evidence was offered on whether
the overbilling and kickback arrangement with Simmel covered all items
or only certain items sold to Pullman. Yet, we think that the
arrangement applied only
to certain items, since Pullman, like B.F. Shaw, would have obtained a
price list from West Jersey with respect to stock items Pullman
purchased. During 1978 through 1981, Pullman purchased more from West
Jersey than B.F. Shaw did.
We thus believe Mr. Walker's $407,900 estimate to be grossly
excessive, considering that the overbilling and kickback arrangements
did not cover all items that Short and Simmel ordered on behalf of
their respective employers, B.F. Shaw and Pullman. A substantial
portion of West Jersey's sales to these two contractors involved items
not subject to the overbilling and kickback arrangements with Short
and Simmel. Further, only the overbilled amounts West Jersey
collected, not the entire gross sales price of the overbilled items,
was shared with Short and Simmel.
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