Investigations

On September 10, 2019, Jerome Lauzon was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Albany, New York, to 1 year of probation, $17,893.90 in restitution, and a $100 special assessment. Lauzon, a former Professional Engineer 1 for the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), pleaded guilty on December 28, 2018, to theft concerning programs receiving Federal funds.

 

Lauzon was the Engineer-in-Charge on the NYSDOT Route 4 Road Reconstruction Project. The investigation revealed that he used his position to obtain equipment and services worth nearly $20,000 for his personal use. Specifically, he admitted to obtaining a snow blower, a lawnmower, car repairs, laptops, a home entertainment system, and computer equipment, as well as other items. He illegally charged those items to the NYSDOT project, using the credit card of the company contracted to do the work. Lauzon also admitted to falsifying entries in NYSDOT’s books and records by entering the expenses as seemingly legitimate project costs.

 

DOT-OIG conducted this investigation with NYS-OIG.