Investigations
Former PennDOT Inspector Pleads Guilty and is Sentenced for His Role in $1.2 Million Corruption Scheme
On June 2, 2015, former Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) inspector Brandon Grosso pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 36 months probation and ordered to pay $13,414 in restitution in Pennsylvania State Court, Bridgeport, Pennsylvania. The conviction is related to a widespread $1.2 million corruption and bribery scheme that affected 27 federally funded construction and maintenance contracts in Pennsylvania. Grosso is cooperating with the government.
Previously, in April the Pennsylvania Attorney General filed a state criminal complaint charging Christopher Czop, president of Czop Specter, Inc. - a consultant inspection firm - with illegally securing more than $1 million in profits by rigging contract bids and profiting from his employees who fraudulently inflated billable hours and mileage claims to PennDOT. In December 2014, criminal complaints were filed that charged ten individuals, including the individual cited above, with widespread corruption and bribery. That followed criminal charges four months earlier of PennDOT contractor Thanh Nguyen, who allegedly stole $3.6 million through a false invoice and bribery scheme.
We are conducting this investigation with the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office.