Dennis Correia looked forward to making "a ton of money" on the project to build a new cruise ship dock, he told his subcontractor before work started.

The Correia Construction boss expressed this thought in an e-mail dated April 6, 2007, sent to Louis (Skip) Gardella, owner of Norwalk Marine International (NMI).

"No international issues, I can get the work permits, ton of money to be made," Mr. Correia wrote.

"Wanna have some of it? Price the tubs good and send the right guys and we can sit back and watch under a palm tree."

The e-mail was sent a week before Mr. Correia signed the $39 million contract with Government on April 13, 2007, to build the new dock at Dockyard. The cost has since swollen to $60 million.

Connecticut-based Mr. Gardella said "the tubs" referred to slabs of pre-cast concrete that were supplied by a US vendor recommended by NMI.

More than six weeks before the contract was signed and sealed, Mr. Correia seemed sure he would get the project.

In an e-mail to Mr. Gardella sent on February 25, 2007, Mr. Correia wrote: "Hey skip, Dock is in the bag.

"If you are interested should fly down for a day very soon so that we can discuss options."

Mr. Correia was officially informed that his company had been awarded the contract in a letter from Cabinet Secretary Marc Telemaque, dated March 7, 2007. The contract was originally signed with the Ministry of Works and Engineering, but was assigned to the Ministry of Transport and Tourism on May 4.