A former PennDOT official has been charged with soliciting and accepting bribes.
Nicholas Martino, 53, from Norristown, Montgomery County, was charged Monday for allegedly accepting payments from a PennDOT contractor in return for continued work with the state transportation agency.
The state attorney general’s office says Martino maintained the contractor’s existing contracts with PennDOT, even when the contractor did not perform the work they were obligated to do.
“This is the definition of public corruption, where the taxpayers get cheated and the public loses confidence in its government,” Attorney General Shapiro said in a statement. “This individual accepted bribes and allowed a contractor to not perform their work under the contract. No one is above the law – and we will hold this former state official accountable for his crime.”
The investigation began in 2013 when Office of Attorney General agents received a tip about corruption in the Southeast Pennsylvania office of PennDOT. A cooperating witness gave evidence against Martino, who oversaw general maintenance and roadside management programs in his role as Assistant District Executive for PennDOT’s District Six.
After a contractor who allegedly paid bribes to Martino did not perform the work for which they were paid to do, Martino looked the other way. He even allegedly had one Bucks County inspector fired for refusing to approve the work the contractor had not performed.
Marino was employed by PennDOT as Assistant District Executive between 2006 and 2014.
Four years ago, 10 PennDOT managers and employees were charged with overbilling PennDOT by millions in exchange for kickbacks from contractors. Many of those defendants were accepted into an accelerated rehabilitative disposition (ARD) program for first-time offenders.