Tampa contractor faces five years in case

TAMPA — Paul Pinet, who owned and operated Tampa contractor Premier Corrosion Protection Services Inc., has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and making false, fictitious and fraudulent statements.

Premier Corrosion Protection Services Inc. provided contracting services to phosphate mines in Polk County and elsewhere.

From 2008 to July 2011 Pinet is charged with paying a Mine Safety and Health Administration-approved safety instructor at a Polk County community college $100 to $125 to create false training certificates for the company's employees. Federal law requires all miners to undergo yearly training and new minors are required to take a 24-hour training course.

Pinet faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison on the conspiracy charge.

The instructor, Barry Fitzgerald of Lakeland, pleaded guilty to the same charge in a related case on May 15.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration investigated the case.

Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Mueller is prosecuting it.