Rice Trucking Company Owner Accused of Swindle

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The owner of a central Minnesota trucking company is accused of swindling dozens of his employees of their legal wages.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman alleges that 64-year-old Gary Francis Bauerly of Rice used several schemes to avoid paying the full prevailing wages his workers had earned.

Freeman alleges that Bauerly pocketed about $52,000.

The contracts that Bauerly allegedly skimmed were public road construction projects that involved the state, four counties and three cities.

Bauerly owns WATAB, a trucking firm based in Rice and St. Cloud. He was charged Thursday with theft by swindle over $35,000.

A phone number for his home or business could not be found.

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