SACRAMENTO — A former construction contractor pleaded guilty Monday to bribery and rigging bids involving Caltrans projects, federal prosecutors said.
William D. Opp ran a scheme to ensure companies he and other co-conspirators controlled would be awarded Caltrans improvement and repair contracts between 2 early 2015 to August 2018, according to a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.
In a press statement, the U.S. Department of Justice said Opp formed a separate construction company, with his wife as the nominal president, to submit sham bids on the contracts. Opp worked with a former Caltrans contract manager who also pleaded guilty in April to his role in the scheme.
“Today’s guilty plea involves crimes affecting industries that receive significant federal funding for infrastructure and transportation,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division in a prepared statement. “The Antitrust Division and its Procurement Collusion Strike Force are redoubling efforts to enforce the law against bid-rigging and fraud that steals taxpayer dollars.”
Opp also pleaded guilty to paying bribes to Caltrans contract manager Choon Foo “Keith” Yong in the form of cash payments, wine, furniture and remodeling services for his home, with the total value of the bribes exceeding $800,000.
Opp will be sentenced on Jan. 30 for the bid-rigging conspiracy and faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. For bribery involving programs receiving federal funds, he faces another maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000. The district court judge will take into consideration federal sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
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