Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Investigations

Date

Former Florida Department of Transportation Employee and Spouse Indicted for Conspiracy To Commit Federal Program Theft

On June 9, Tracy Tronco, a former transit coordinator and passenger operations specialist with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), and her husband, Alejo Tronco-Diaz, of Lakeland, Florida, were indicted in U.S. District Court, Tampa, for their role in a conspiracy to commit Federal program theft.
 
Tronco and Tronco-Diaz had joint ownership in Ebenezer Church (Ebenezer) and Ministerio A Gran Voz De Trompeta Campus, Inc. (Ministerio). Ministerio received $250,000 in grants from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) via FDOT. The FTA grants were for programs that address transportation challenges faced by low income, disabled, and elderly individuals.
 
The indictment alleges that Tronco used her authority as an FDOT employee to bypass the normal award review process and award the funds directly to Ministerio and Ebenezer. She and Tronco-Diaz submitted checks to FDOT, indicating that they had made payments for real property, services, and materials. However, the checks did not clear, and the property, services, and materials were never actually obtained. According to the indictment, Tronco and Tronco-Diaz also falsely represented to FDOT that they had used grant funds to acquire vehicles to provide transportation services, but the vehicles were for their personal use. In addition, they falsely represented that they had incurred expenses for the preventative maintenance and repair of the vehicles.
DOT-OIG is conducting this investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and FDOT-OIG with assistance from FTA.
 
Note: Indictments, informations, and criminal complaints are only accusations by the Government. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.