Arrest DOT Officials Over Bridge Bribes;

Sought to Inflate Payouts
Arrest DOT Officials Over Bridge Bribes


Two Transportation Department employees were arrested Nov. 27 on Federal charges of soliciting bribes from a company involved in the reconstruction of the Third Ave. Bridge.

Balram Chandiramani, the Director of Movable Bridges, and Uday Shah, an Assistant Civil Engineer, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marilyn D. Go in Brooklyn the next day. Each was released on $500,000 bail, the New York Times reported.

Aid in Payment Dispute

In March of 2007, a corporation with offices in Queens submitted a claim to the Transportation Department for $16.5 million arising from "various contract disputes," according to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District. The prosecutors' statement said that "in late 2006 an executive of the corporation met with Shah and sought his help in resolving the claim favorable to the corporation. Shah agreed to assist and promptly began to provide the executive with confidential information regarding [the Transportation Department's] negotiation position on settlement amounts for the various items in the claim. Shah also enlisted Chandiramani's help in the scheme and set up at a face-to-face meeting."

It went on, "Chandiramani promised that he could work behind the scenes and guarantee a settlement between $6.5 million and $6.6 million, in exchange for a $400,000 bribery payment."

The U.S. Attorney's Office alleged that Mr. Chandiramani received $10,000 in cash in August, and was arrested after accepting a second payment of $50,000.

"Municipal employees who try to compromise the integrity of the city workforce should know that DOI will continue to work with state and Federal authorities to pursue this type of criminal conduct," Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said in a statement.

Face 10-Year Terms

The two employees would face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

"New Yorkers should expect their city government to abide by the highest ethical standards, and I am troubled by these charges because, if true, that expectation has been breached," Mayor Bloomberg said in a statement. "Our administration has zero tolerance for corruption and will continue to root out any officials that abuse their positions - and the public's trust. I want to commend both the United States Attorney's Office and the city's Department of Investigation, which monitored this undercover operation very closely. Because of the Department of Investigation's work, a $2.7-million payment that would have been made was stopped, and no taxpayer money was lost. Even more important, the city's infrastructure was not endangered as a result of this incident."