Developer Admits Making False Statement to FBI Agents Investigating Public Corruption in Shelton
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 21, 2010 |
The United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut announced that ROBERT SCINTO, 63, of Fairfield, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before United States Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel in Bridgeport to one count of making a materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement to FBI agents during the course of a public corruption investigation in Shelton, Connecticut.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from at least as early as 1999 through 2008, SCINTO, a builder and property developer in Shelton, provided cash and items of value to a building official (identified as “Building Official #1 ”), an elected public official (identified as “Public Official #1 ”) and other City of Shelton employees. These items included, but were not limited to, providing cash to Building Official #1 when the building official was issuing certificates of occupancy relating to SCINTO’s development projects; providing $2,500 in cash to Building Official #1 in May 2008 when the building official requested a “loan”; paying for a service related to Public Official # 1’s business; and providing $500 in cash to Public Official #1 after Public Official #1 gave SCINTO a $500 check for the use of SCINTO’s Colorado vacation home.
On June 18, 2008, FBI agents interviewed SCINTO in Shelton. During that interview, SCINTO falsely advised FBI agents that he had never provided anything beyond Christmas presents and certain other identified items of value to City of Shelton officials.
SCINTO is scheduled to be sentenced by Senior United States District Judge Charles S. Haight on January 7, 2011, at which time SCINTO faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Richard J. Schechter and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale.