Virginia Department of Transportation Officials and Snow Removal Contractors Arrested for Bribe Scheme

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Two Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) officials and four private VDOT contractors were arrested today for their alleged involvement in a bribery scheme involving the awarding of over $9.1 million in snow removal contracts.

According to allegations in the indictment, from as early as 2013, Anthony Willie and Kenneth Duane Adams, VDOT supervisors at the Burke Area Headquarters (AHQ), secretly used their official positions as employees of the VDOT Burke AHQ to enrich themselves by soliciting and accepting cash bribes in exchange for various favorable official acts, such as awarding snow removal work to local trucking companies during winter snow storms in the northern Virginia area.

According to the allegations in the indictment, Willie and Adams negotiated bribe agreements with several owners and operators of trucking and snow removal companies, including Rolando Alfonso Pineda Moran, Shaheen Sariri, and John Lee Williamson (see table below), seeking snow removal work from the VDOT Burke AHQ. At their core, each agreement stated that the company owners would provide a percentage or a flat rate of their hourly contracts as bribes in the form of cash payments to Willie and Adams, in exchange for being awarded snow removal work and having Willie and Adams sign off on their VDOT invoices. Beginning in the 2013‑2014 snow season and continuing through at least the 2015‑2016 snow season, Willie and Adams received approximately $140,000 in cash bribes from the company owners under those agreements.

The indictment also alleges that from 2011 through 2016, Adams conspired with Elmer Antonio Mejia by negotiating an agreement whereby Mejia would sub-contract snow removal work out to Adams’ nominee-owned company, Supreme Landscaping. During this period, Mejia paid Adams more than $160,000, frequently disguising the payments as pay for snow removal work allegedly performed by Adams’ nominee-owned company.

The indictment charges six defendants for the following offenses:

Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly R. Pedersen and Samantha P. Bateman are prosecuting the case.

This case involved a joint investigation by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Virginia State Police, and Fairfax County Police Department. Additional assistance was provided by the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Office of Assurance and Compliance.

Any person who believes they may have information regarding public corruption or fraud in the northern Virginia area is encouraged to call the FBI’s Northern Virginia Public Corruption Hotline at 703-686-6225 or e-mail tips to NOVAPC@ic.fbi.gov.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-188.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.