| Item: | FHWA Contractor Pleads Guilty to Bribery, Money-Laundering | | Date: | October 6, 1998 | | Type: | Press Release | | Summary: | Alberto Santiago, a former Federal Highway Administration official who resigned while under investigation, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Santiago, of Herndon, VA, was charged with conspiracy, bribery, and money-laundering; he faces up to 40 years in prison and $1 million in fines. Sentencing is pending. An OIG investigation, jointly carried out with the FBI, disclosed that between 1993 and 1997 Santiago solicited and received more than $150,000 in cash and money orders from government contractors over whom he had official responsibility, letting them submit fraudulent invoices to reimburse themselves for the illicit payments. In a related case, Hobih Chen, owner of the Viggen Corp. of Sterling, VA, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, bribery and money-laundering. Chen's firm was among those alleged to have paid bribes to Santiago. He faces up to 5 years' imprisonment and $250,000 in fines. The investigation continues, and an audit of the facility where Santiago worked is under way. |
| Page: | http://www.dot.gov/affairs/1998/oig3398.htm | |
