Jimmy Fratianno was associated with Frank Bompensiero, the San Diego mafia leader, in a criminal lawsuit involving the Fratianno Trucking Company and the Miles and Sons Trucking Company in 1966; he was known to law enforcement as "the Mafia's West Coast executioner," with up to 16 deaths for which he was potentially responsible. Both companies were awarded the contracts to transport dirt during the construction of I-8 in El Centro. Drivers were coerced to agree to buy the trucks, although the Fratianno Company still retained the ownership; they also had portions of their wages withheld from them. Following this, the drivers were loaned money from Leo Moceri, another mafia leader. An investigation in early 1966 after complaints from the drivers led to state charges against the two firms as well as five people in August. There were concerns that John Erreca, the state director of public works, had a conflict of interest with Fratianno and did not enforce the law; however, both Transportation Administrator Robert Bradford (upon a request for investigation from then Governor Pat Brown) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation found that there was no conflict of interest.