Donald Seefeldt, a former executive of a masonry contractor, has admitted to conspiring to bribe an Amtrak employee in connection with a significant project at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Seefeldt pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit federal program bribery before United States District Court Judge Wendy Beetlestone.
The case centers around a $58 million contract awarded by Amtrak for façade repairs and restoration at the station. The federal government funded approximately 90% of this project. Seefeldt, as Senior Executive Vice President of the Contractor, was responsible for overseeing the company's performance on this project.
Seefeldt conspired with others, including Lee Maniatis and Khaled Dallo, who were vice presidents of the Contractor, and Official #1, the sole owner and senior officer of the company. The scheme involved offering gifts and other incentives worth about $323,686 to Amtrak Employee #1. This employee managed communication between Amtrak and the Contractor regarding work done on the project.
Despite lacking singular authority over payments, Amtrak Employee #1 played a crucial role in approving invoices and change orders submitted by the Contractor. The employee allegedly used their position to benefit the Contractor by accessing internal information and approving costly changes that inflated project expenses.
These actions led to over $52 million in additional payments from Amtrak to the Contractor, resulting in more than $2 million in alleged overbilling due to inflated costs under change orders.
Seefeldt is set for sentencing on May 22, facing up to five years in prison along with fines and restitution obligations amounting potentially to over $2 million.
U.S. Attorney Romero emphasized the impact of such fraud: “Every dollar of federal funding lost to fraud is a dollar less to put toward legitimate programs and projects.” The investigation was conducted by the FBI alongside Inspector General offices from both Amtrak and the Department of Transportation.
