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Former New York Utility Company Inspector Sentenced for Accepting Bribes from General Contractors

On October 9, 2009, Michael Spinelli, a former Con Edison utility company inspector, was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Brooklyn, New York, to serve three years probation and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment for his role in accepting bribes from general contractors on New York area roadway reconstruction projects.

Mr. Spinelli previously pled guilty and admitted that from 1970 to 2001, he conspired with others to accept bribes on numerous roadway reconstruction projects awarded by DOT grantees throughout the New York area and did not declare these bribes as income on his Federal tax returns. In exchange for the bribes, Mr. Spinelli and others expedited payments to the general contractors for the cost of the additional work they performed to avoid utilities on the roadway projects.

On December 5, 2008, other defendants in this case, Andrew Catapano, President of AFC Enterprises, Incorporated, and John Mikuszewski, Consultant to Rosewood Contracting Corporation, pled guilty midway through their trial to charges of conspiracy and admitted that they conspired to bribe union officials and utility company representatives on numerous roadway reconstruction projects awarded by DOT grantees throughout the New York area from 1998 to 2001. They were subsequently sentenced to terms of incarceration and ordered to forfeit $1.2 million to the government