Who is the Wantman Group?
November 1, 2018
WGI (The Wantman Group) is an engineering firm that has steadily increased the amount of business being awarded to them by the City of West Palm Beach. The projects are typically approved by the City Commission.
Total fees paid by the City to WGI is tough to find because they are often buried in contracts that go through the Procurement Department. I recently placed a public records request and as soon as the city sanitizes the request they will send me what information they want me to have.
In the meantime, WGI seems to enjoy a “favorite firm” status with the City in the same way a certain general contractor seems to be a “favorite firm”, and you know who I am referring too. It is the same general contractor that vocally opposes the City even discussing a disparity study.
After doing some homework, it turns out, WGI’s senior vice president, Jeffrey Brophy and his wife Erin, own a home in Andros Isles, the gated community on the western outskirts of West Palm Beach. However, the Brophy’s do not live in the home at 2365 Pigeon Cay. So who does? Their tenant happens to be none other than City Commissioner Keith James and his new wife Lorna.
It gets better! WGI is helping another one of our City Commissioners, Christina Lambert, who was sworn in on April 5, 2018, and a mere 4 months later WGI hired Commissioner Lambert’s husband, Monte, as a “Senior Business Development Manager”
Mr. Lambert’s recently departed from his Achieve advertising firm as Vice President, as the result of a scandal and law suit against Forte Interactive and RacePartners, a division of Achieve, a major sports franchiser for missing marathon race proceeds. Read the story below:
Does Wantman want more? Time will tell. In my opinion, they will always want more. However, if Commissioner James becomes Mayor James, they won’t need any more “friends” on the Commission to make sure they keep getting more.
I just received e-mail from the City and they want $1,295.01 for the Public Records Request. Makes me wonder what they don’t want me to see/read. Business as usual.