NJ Bid Riggers Imprisoned for Millions Worth of Scams

A federal judge has sentenced three NJ men, one of them local, to prison for their roles in bid rigging conspiracies that are said to have cost municipalities around the county millions of dollars. 

Judge Harold Baer Jr., sitting in the U.S. District Court of Manhattan, sentenced local man, Dominick P. Carollo, of Holmdel, to serve three years in prison and to pay a $50,000 criminal fine. 

In addition, Steven E. Goldberg, of Glen Ridge, was sentenced to serve 48 months in prison and to pay a $90,000 criminal fine. And Peter S. Grimm, of Bloomfield, was sentenced to serve 36 months in prison and to pay a $50,000 criminal fine.

The three former executives were convicted by a federal jury last Thursday after a three-week trial, ending on May 11, during which prosecutors showed evidence that the men manipulated the competitive bidding process for dozens of contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other municipal finance contracts. 

According to the NJ Deptartment of Justice, the men and other co-conspirators "corrupted the bidding process for dozens of investment agreements to increase the number and profitability of investment agreements" awarded to the companies for which they worked.

Prosecutors said the three New Jersey men, while working at GE affiliates, deprived the municipalities of competitive interest rates for the investment of tax-exempt bond proceeds that were to be used by municipalities for various public works projects, such as for building or repairing schools, hospitals and roads.

Scott D. Hammond, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the federal Department of Justice's Antitrust Division Criminal Enforcement Program said in a statement, “By manipulating the competitive bidding process, the conspirators cheated cities and towns out of money for important public works projects."

IRS Chief of Criminal Investigation Richard Weber said, “Quite simply, the defendants stole money from taxpayers and conspired to manipulate the competitive bidding system to benefit themselves instead of the towns and cities that needed this money for important public works projects."

At trial, Carollo was found guilty on two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and defraud the United States. Goldberg was found guilty on four counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and defraud the United States, and Grimm was found guilty on three counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and defraud the United States.