Contractor Charged with Conspiracy to Commit Bribery in Sewer District Probe

An information was filed charging Robert J. Kassouf, age 61, of Westlake, Ohio, with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery in federally funded programs, Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today.

“Today’s charge demonstrates yet again our commitment to prosecuting all those involved in corruption and self-dealing in public contracts, whether they are public officials or a private businesspeople,” Dettelbach said. “Stamping out public corruption and safeguarding the public’s money and trust are top priorities.”

Kassouf, 61, of Westlake, Ohio, was the president, and subsequently owner, of the Kassouf Company, located in Cleveland, Ohio.

William B. Schatz was the General Counsel of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) from 1979 until his retirement in August 2007. During his tenure, the NEORSD had major sewage tunnel contracts including the Mill Creek Tunnel Contract, Phases two and three. The Kassouf Company, as part of a Joint Venture with three other companies, was one of several contractors who were awarded contracts to complete work on Mill Creek Tunnel Contract (MCT-2) and Mill Creek Tunnel Contract (MCT-3).

Stanley Lojek was the President of Harvard Refuse, Inc., also located in Cleveland, Ohio, which provided, among other things, parking lot and machine rentals to the Kassouf Company and the Joint Venture.

The Information states that from in or about 2000, and continuing until on or about April 26, 2007, Robert J. Kassouf, conspired with William B. Schatz and Stanley Lojek, to unjustly enrich William B. Schatz by paying him over $600,000 during the same time period that the Joint Venture had disputed claims arising from MCT-2 and MCT-3 pending before NEORSD. These payments were made in an effort to influence or reward William B. Schatz in connection with NEORSD legal settlements.

The Information states that the conspirators accomplished this by William B. Schatz invoicing Harvard Refuse, Inc. for legal services that were not performed and receiving checks from Harvard Refuse, Inc; Lojek, in turn, invoiced Kassouf and the Joint Venture for payments not due Harvard Refuse, Inc. Robert J. Kassouf and the Joint Venture, in turn, paid these invoices knowing that the money would be paid to William B. Schatz.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Justin J. Roberts and Daniel J. Riedl, following an investigation by the Cleveland offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division.

An Information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.