Calmaquip is at the center of conspiracy and corruption charges over the building of Piarco International Airport in Trinidad and Tobago, a political scandal that touches the highest level of the Caribbean nation's former government.

Calmaquip's offices near Miami International Airport are closed. Its employees have lost their jobs. Former owner Raul J. Gutierrez Jr. -- the son of the Cuban immigrant who founded the firm -- is under indictment for conspiracy, money laundering, wire and bank fraud. He faces 135 years in prison if convicted in a federal trial set to begin Nov. 13.

Defense attorneys for Gutierrez and others charged in the bid-rigging case insist their clients are victims of a political vendetta in the oil and gas-rich nation of Trinidad, with the current government trying to pin corruption charges on its predecessor.

Trinidad officials couldn't be reached for comment.The criminal case pivots on charges that Gutierrez and others conspired to fix the 1996 bid process to secure construction contracts for Piarco in Trinidad. Calmaquip was competing for a contract to supply loading bridges, security systems, baggage handling and other equipment, according to the prosecution team, headed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard D. Gregorie.

As part of the conspiracy, the firm overseeing the construction, Birk Hillman, which operated out of Miami and Orlando, allegedly rewrote the bid requirements to eliminate Trinidadian competitors, the indictment says

Those involved in the scheme even arranged for a shadow company to submit an exaggerated bid so Calmaquip's bid would appear more competitive, according to a paper trail of faxes, the indictment charges. And it alleges the shadow company, called SDC, failed to disclose it shared corporate officers, directors and a business location with Calmaquip.

Among the evidence that linked the two companies, according to the indictment: Calmaquip bought two rubber stamps from a Miami firm that carried the name and insignia of its shadow competitor.

Birk Hillman had estimated the loading bridges and other equipment would total $15 million, the indictment says. But the Trinidad airport authority accepted Calmaquip's $30 million bid, because it was nearly $5 million less than rivals'.

Another company charged in the conspiracy, Northern Construction of Trinidad, bid $20 million for a phase of the construction originally estimated to cost $10 million.

Calmaquip executives and other defendants then used a series of offshore accounts to launder millions of dollars they pocketed themselves, or paid as bribes and kickbacks, the indictment charges.

After a recent pretrial hearing before U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck, attorney Bruce Lyons said his client, Gutierrez Jr., denied the allegations.

''The airport came in on time and on budget,'' Lyons said, pointing out that few major Miami-Dade projects can boast of such a record.

Lyons acknowledged that the Trinidad government was complaining about the price, but he suggested Trinidadian officials were more upset about the former government getting credit for the finished airport.

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