March 15, 2013
HARRISBURG, Pa. - Pennsylvania prosecutors said they have filed charges against a former state Senate leader and seven others in what is being called a "pay to play" case involving the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Attorney General Kathleen Kane said Wednesday they are accused of criminal activity for their financial and political advantage.
"The grand jury found that these men were using the Turnpike to line their pockets and to influence elections," said Kane. "That is stealing from the public, pure and simple."
The defendants include former state Senate Democratic Leader Bob Mellow, former turnpike chairman Mitchell Rubin, former turnpike chief executive Joe Brimmeier and three other former turnpike employees. The other defendants are two turnpike vendors.
The allegations include conspiracy, commercial bribery, bid rigging, theft and conflict of interest.
"The findings of the grand jury are very troubling to me," said Kane. "These were blatant actions. It was almost as though they had no fear of being caught. That kind of behavior has to stop."
Below is a list of the charges each person faces.
-- Robert Mellow, 70, 110 Oak Hill Drive, Archbald, PA, is charged with two counts corrupt organizations, two counts of restricted activities, one count of commercial bribery, one count of unlawful bid-rigging, one count of restricted activities, one count of criminal conspiracy, and one count of failure to file expense account.
-- Mitchell Rubin, 61, 1608 Green St., Philadelphia, PA, is charged with three counts of unlawful bid rigging, two counts corrupt organizations, two counts of restricted activities, one count commercial bribery, and one count of criminal conspiracy.
-- Joseph Brimmeier, 64, 141 Renfer St., Pittsburgh, PA, is charged with two counts corrupt organizations, two counts of unlawful bid-rigging, two counts of restricted activities, one count of commercial bribery, one count of criminal attempt, and one count of criminal conspiracy
-- George Hatalowich, 47, 224 Tiverton Lane, Harrisburg, PA, is charged with seven counts of restricted activities, three counts of unlawful bid-rigging, two counts of corrupt organizations, one count of commercial bribery, one count of criminal attempt, and one count of criminal conspiracy.
-- Dennis Miller, 51, 1626 Whitley Drive, Harrisburg, PA, is charged with one count of unlawful bid-rigging, one count of theft by unlawful taking, one count of theft by deception, one count of restricted activities, and one count of criminal conspiracy.
-- Jeffrey Suzenski, 63, 2193 Saint Peters Road, Pottstown, PA, is charged with one count of restricted activities.
-- Melvin Shelton, 81, 6000 West Oxford St., Philadelphia, PA, is charged with two counts of theft by unlawful taking, two counts of theft by deception, two counts of misapplication of entrusted property and property of government or financial institutions, one count of unauthorized use of automobiles and other vehicles, one count of perjury, one count of false swearing,
-- Raymond Zajicek, 67, 731 Hidden Lake Drive, Tarpon Springs, FL, is charged with two counts theft by unlawful taking, two counts theft by deception, two counts of misapplication of entrusted property and property of government or financial institutions, one count of unauthorized use of automobiles and other vehicles, and one count of simple assault.
Turnpike Commission releases statement
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Chief Executive Officer Mark P. Compton made the below statement in response to the attorney general's news conference regarding a state grand jury probe of the Turnpike Commission:
We understand how important it is to maintain the public's trust. And certainly, we're troubled by today's news from Attorney General Kane's office.
If charges against former Turnpike employees are indeed proven, we certainly cannot -- and will not -- defend that. But I can say that these actions definitely don't represent the hard-working men and women who keep our road open and safe for customers. In the time that I've been here, the Turnpike that I have experienced firsthand is quite different than the one that I've heard about in media reports.
It's important to point out that we have taken steps in the past two years to reform and modernize Turnpike operations:
-- We hired a Chief Compliance Officer, who is a former FBI agent, to make sure employee actions continue to be beyond reproach; and we provided the resources needed to do the job.
-- We adopted, as policy, a more rigorous, transparent process for awarding professional-services contracts to ensure that only the most-qualified firms are considered and awarded.
-- Thanks to a recently formed diversity and inclusion department, we are attracting a more diverse pool of contractors and service providers to bid on our projects.
Without doubt, the commission remains committed to continuing our efforts to improve the accountability and operations of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
source: WGAL
No comments:
Post a Comment