Former MetroHealth System Executive Sentenced to Nine Years
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 19, 2011 |
Former MetroHealth System executive John J. Carroll was sentenced to nine years in prison today, Bernard K. Smith, Appellate Chief, Criminal Division in the Northern District of Ohio; Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, announced today.
Carroll, the former Vice President of Facilities and Institutional Services at MetroHealth, pleaded guilty in September 2009 to six charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery, obstruction of justice, and filing false tax returns.
Carroll, 63, of Aurora, Ohio, admitted to participating in several bribery schemes in which he and another MetroHealth executive, Thomas J. Greco, solicited bribes from Nilesh Patel, former vice president of East West Construction Company. The bribes were valued at approximately $678,000 and came in the form of travel, gift cards, home improvements and home furnishings, according to court documents.
In exchange, Carroll and Greco exercised their discretion at East West’s advantage on MetroHealth contracts. Carroll, Greco and Patel funded the bribes by causing MetroHealth to pay inflated costs to East West, according to court documents.
Patel pleaded guilty in 2009. Greco was found guilty following a jury trial last year.
Carroll was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Kate O’Malley to pay $728,000 in restitution and perform 100 hours of community service upon his release from prison.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ann C. Rowland and Antoinette T. Bacon. The investigation was conducted by the Cleveland office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service.
The Cuyahoga County corruption investigation is ongoing.