Movable Bridge Head and Aide Took Kickbacks

By ARI PAUL

A former top Transportation Department official and a subordinate pleaded guilty March 24 to Federal charges of soliciting bribes from a company involved in the reconstruction of the Third Ave. Bridge.

ROSE GILL HEARN: A bridge too far.

Balram Chandiramani, the Director of Movable Bridges, and Uday Shah, an Assistant Civil Engineer, were arrested last November. They face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, but a sentencing date has not yet been set.

Offered Inside Info

In March 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 a statement from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District. It noted 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."

Mr. Chandiramani had promised the company he could secure a settlement of between $6.5 million and $6.6 million for a fee of $400,000.

A statement from the United States Attorney's office said that Mr. Shah supplied spreadsheets to the company "reflecting the city's minimum and maximum settlement amounts for each item of the claim." Mr. Shah collected $5,000 while his accomplice accepted two payments totaling $60,000.

"The audacious conduct charged in this case involved the defendants' scheme to obtain money from the company that conducted a multi-million reconstruction of the bridge," Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said last week in a statement.