August 12, 2014

Former United States Navy Military Sealift Command Contractor Pleads Guilty to Bribery and Conspiracy

Scott B. Miserendino, Sr., 55, a former contractor for the United States Navy Military Sealift Command, pleaded guilty today to accepting bribes and conspiring to commit bribery.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Susan Triesch of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office, andSpecial Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI Norfolk Field Office made the announcement today after Miserendino entered his guilty plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller of the Eastern District of Virginia.

According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Miserendino was a government contractor at the Military Sealift Command, which is the leading provider of transportation for the U.S. Navy. In that position, Miserendino worked closely with Kenny E. Toy, the former Afloat Programs Manager for the N6 Command, Control, Communication, and Computer Systems Directorate. In approximately November 2004, Miserendino and Toy initiated an extensive bribery scheme that spanned five years, involved multiple coconspirators, including two companies, and resulted in Miserendino and Toy receiving more than $265,000 in cash bribes, among other things of value, in exchange for official assistance.

At his plea hearing, Miserendino admitted that he solicited and accepted regular cash bribes, as well as other things of value, from two Chesapeake, Virginia contracting companies, referred to as Company A and Company B in court documents, in exchange for providing favorable treatment to those companies in connection with U.S. government contract work. More specifically, Miserendino admitted that he accepted $3,000 in cash bribes per month from various employees at Company A, including co-conspirators Dwayne A. Hardman, Roderic J. Smith, Michael P. McPhail, and Adam C. White. Miserendino also admitted that he, along with Toy, accepted a cash bribe payment of $50,000 in May 2009, from Company B’s founders, Hardman and Timothy S. Miller.

In addition to the more than $265,000 in cash bribes, Miserendino also admitted that he and Toy received other things of value, including flat screen televisions, laptop computers, a vacation rental in Nags Head, North Carolina, a football helmet signed by Troy Aikman, and softball bats.

According to plea documents, in exchange for the bribes, Miserendino and Toy performed various official acts to assist Company A and Company B. Indeed, during the conspiracy, Company A received approximately $3 million in business from the Military Sealift Commandand Company B received approximately $2.5 million in business.

As part of his guilty plea, Miserendino also admitted to engaging in a scheme to conceal his criminal activity, which involved Miserendino arranging for more than $85,000 to be paid to one of his co-conspirators, Hardman, in an attempt to prevent Hardman from reporting the bribery scheme to law enforcement authorities.

Miserendino is scheduled to be sentenced on November 7, 2014.

Earlier this year, five other individuals pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme. On Feb. 12, 2014, Toy pleaded guilty to bribery, and he was sentenced on July 29, 2014, to 96 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $100,000. On Feb. 18, 2014, Hardman, the co-founder of Company A and Company B, pleaded guilty to bribing Toy and Miserendino, and he was sentenced on July 9, 2014, to 96 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $144,000. On Feb. 19, 2014, Michael P. McPhail pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and he was sentenced on Aug. 5, 2014, to 36 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $57,000. On March 5, 2014, Smith, the co-founder and former president of Company A, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and he was sentenced on June 23, 2014, to 48 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $175,000. On April 4, 2014, White, a former vice president of Company A, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and he was sentenced on July 11, 2014, to 24 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $57,000.

The remaining defendant, Timothy S. Miller, a businessman who sought contracting business from the Military Sealift Command, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and two counts of bribery. Miller’s t rial is scheduled for Sept. 30, 2014, before Chief Judge Smith.

The case was investigated by the FBI, NCIS, and DCIS. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie of the Eastern District of Virginia.