Former General Manager Sentenced in Taxi Bribery Scheme

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Arthur A. Boulette, 64, of Dunedin, Florida, was sentenced today to 12 months and a day in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for accepting more than $100,000 in cash bribe payments from taxicab drivers in exchange for giving them priority on a list of prospective drivers to operate a Washington Flyer Taxi cab at Washington Dulles International Airport. Boulette was also ordered to forfeit approximately $106,000 in bribery proceeds to the government.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

Boulette pleaded guilty on June 20, 2013. According to court documents, Boulette was employed by Dulles Taxi Systems Inc. (DTS) as the general manager at its Dulles Airport location within the Eastern District of Virginia. DTS was one of the three contractors that entered into a taxicab concession contract with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) to perform a taxicab dispatch service at the airport. As the general manager, the defendant Boulette’s duties and responsibilities included the management and oversight of taxi cabs and drivers who contracted with DTS to operate Washington Flyer taxicabs. Instead of establishing and following a fair selection and hiring process for drivers to operate Washington Flyer taxicabs assigned to DTS, Boulette accepted cash payments ranging from $2,000 to $7,000 from a number of taxicab drivers in exchange for giving them priority of prospective drivers. The total amount of money Boulette received was approximately $106,000.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Jasmine Yoon prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.