Retired Amtrak Supervisor Admits He Accepted Gratuities From Amtrak Vendor

TRENTON, N.J. – A former supervisor at Amtrak in Essex County, New Jersey, today admitted soliciting and accepting more than $7,000 worth of items for his personal use from a vendor as a reward for spending more than $185,000 with the vendor in his capacity as an Amtrak Building and Bridges Supervisor, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Louis Moschitti, 68, of Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of corruptly soliciting things of value with the intent to be rewarded in connection with transactions of Amtrak—a federally funded organization. 

According to documents filed and statements made in court:

From April 2010 to July 2013, Moschitti, a building and bridges supervisor, used his Amtrak Procurement Charge Card to make more than $185,000 in purchases from Bayway Lumber, a Linden, New Jersey, company that sold commercial and industrial products. He received items worth more than $7,000 intended as a reward for his official purchases. These included a Panasonic television, a Nikon camera, Michelin tires, and an Onkyo sound system.  Moschitti retired from Amtrak in August 2014. Robert Dattilo, a part owner of Bayway Lumber, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with this and other fraudulent activity and was sentenced by Judge Sheridan on July 15, 2016 to four years in prison.    

The charge to which Moschitti pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss associated with the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for March 27, 2017.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents with the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi; special agents of the FBI direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher; and the Office of Inspector General, Amtrak, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Robert Koons, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.   

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Barbara R. Llanes and Cari Fais of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.  

Defense counsel: Marc Leibman Esq., New Jersey