FORMER VP PLEADS GUILTY TO CONSPIRACY TO BRIBE PUBLIC OFFICIALS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Friday, April 4, 2014
Former Vice President of Government Contracting Company Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Bribery

A former vice president of a Chesapeake, Va., government contracting company pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pay bribes to public officials in exchange for favorable treatment in connection with U.S. government contract work.

Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. O’Neil of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office, Acting Executive Assistant Director Charles T. May Jr. of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Atlantic Operations and Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Adam C. White, 40, was charged by criminal information on March 28, 2014, with one count of conspiracy to bribe public officials.   White faces a maximum penalty of five years when he is sentenced on July 11, 2014.

According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, White worked for a government contracting company that was created to support the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) on various telecommunication projects.   For several years, White and his business partners paid bribes to MSC public officials in exchange for favorable treatment in awarding MSC-related government contract work.

White admitted that he contributed a portion of his paycheck to the bribe payments by regularly withdrawing approximately $1,000 in cash from his personal bank account after receiving his bi-weekly paycheck and providing it to his business partners.   Together, White and his business partners paid approximately $3,000 to $4,000 a month in cash bribes to two MSC public officials.   In his statement of facts, White also admits that he was aware his business partners provided other things of value, including flat-screen televisions, to influence the official actions of a MSC public official.

As a condition of the plea agreement, White has agreed to forfeit $57,000 as the proceeds of the offense.

In December 2013, White resigned from his position as vice president of the government contracting company.

Prior to entry of this guilty plea, four other individuals pleaded guilty in connection with the same bribery scheme.   On Feb. 12, 2014, Kenny E. Toy, the former afloat programs manager for the MSC N6 Command, Control, Communication and Computer Systems Directorate, pleaded guilty to bribery and admitted receiving more than $100,000 in cash bribes.   On Feb. 18, 2014, Dwayne A. Hardman, one of White’s business partners, pleaded guilty to bribery and admitted to providing more than $140,000 in cash bribes to Toy and another MSC public official.   On Feb. 19, 2014, Michael P. McPhail pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and agreed to forfeit $57,000.   On March 5, 2014, Roderic J. Smith, another of White’s business partners, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and agreed to forfeit $175,000.

The case was investigated by the FBI, DCIS and NCIS.   The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant United States Attorney Stephen W. Haynie of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

OLIVET MANAGEMENT FACES $2.3 MILLION IN FINES IN ASBESTOS EXPOSURE CASE

FROM:  DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Olivet Management faces $2.3M in OSHA fines
for knowingly exposing workers to asbestos and lead at NY work site

Exposure occurred during renovation of former Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center

WASHINGTON — Olivet Management LLC, a real estate development and management company that owns the former Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center in the Wingdale section of Dover Plains, N.Y., faces a total of $2,359,000 in proposed fines from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The company has been cited for exposing its own employees, as well as employees for 13 contractors, to asbestos and lead hazards during cleanup operations in preparation for a tour of the site by potential investors.

"Olivet knew that asbestos and lead were present at this site, yet the company chose to ignore its responsibility to protect its own workers and contractors," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. "The intolerable choice this company made put not only workers, but also their families, in danger."

An inspection by OSHA's Albany Area Office conducted in response to a complaint began Oct. 23, 2013. The inspection found that Olivet employees and contractors were exposed to asbestos and lead while performing renovation and cleanup activities. The work, which was directed and overseen by Olivet supervisors, included removing: asbestos- and lead-contaminated debris; asbestos-containing floor tiles and insulation; and lead-containing paint from walls, windows, door frames and other painted surfaces.

OSHA determined that Olivet knowingly failed to take basic safety precautions. The company neither informed their own employees nor the contractors about the presence of asbestos and lead, despite knowing that both hazards existed. As a result, Olivet did not: train employees in the hazards of asbestos and lead and the need and nature of required safeguards; monitor workers' exposure levels; provide appropriate respiratory protection; post notices, warning signs and labels to alert workers and contractors to the presence of asbestos and lead. The company also did not provide clean changing and decontamination areas for workers, many of whom wore their contaminated clothing home to households with small children.

As a result of these conditions, Olivet was cited for 45 willful violations, with $2,352,000 in proposed fines. Twenty-four of the willful citations address instance-by-instance exposure of workers to asbestos and lead hazards. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirement, or plain indifference to employee safety and health. Olivet was also issued one serious citation, with a $7,000 fine, for failing to inform waste haulers of the presence of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials, meaning asbestos from the site may have been disposed of improperly at an unknown location. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

Renovation and cleanup activities can generate airborne concentrations of asbestos and lead. Workers can be exposed to both through inhalation or ingestion. Exposure to asbestos can cause disabling or fatal diseases, such as asbestosis, lung cancer, mesothelioma and gastrointestinal cancer. While lead exposure can cause damage to the nervous system, kidneys, blood forming organs, and reproductive system. 

In January of this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration ordered Olivet to stop all work that could disturb asbestos at the facility. EPA's investigation is ongoing.

Olivet has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission.

Due to the willful violations found at the site, Olivet has been placed in OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which mandates targeted follow-up inspections to ensure compliance with the law. Under the program, OSHA may inspect any of the employer's facilities or job sites.