Mark Snedden, the president and sole owner of a masonry restoration contracting company based in Munster, Indiana, was sentenced to 90 months in prison for conspiring to bribe an Amtrak employee and making a false claim. The sentencing took place in Philadelphia before United States District Judge Wendy Beetlestone. In addition to his prison term, Snedden received one year of supervised release, was fined $250,000, and ordered to pay joint restitution of $2,062,374.
According to court documents, Snedden’s company was awarded a $58.5 million contract by Amtrak in December 2015 for façade repair and restoration at the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. Federal funds covered about 90% of the project costs.
Snedden oversaw the company’s performance on the project along with other executives: Senior Executive Vice President Donald Seefeldt and Vice Presidents Lee Maniatis and Khaled Dallo. All three have been charged separately.
The case involved an Amtrak project manager referred to as “Amtrak Employee #1,” who communicated with the contractor regarding work progress and had significant influence over invoice approvals for payment. The contract specifically barred any offers of cash or gifts to Amtrak employees for favorable treatment.
From May 2016 through November 2019, Snedden conspired with others—including Amtrak Employee #1—to provide gifts totaling approximately $323,686. These included paid vacations, jewelry, cash, dinners, entertainment items such as a dog and its training, and transportation. The intention was to ensure that Amtrak Employee #1 used his influence on behalf of the contractor during the project.
In exchange for these gifts, it is alleged that Amtrak Employee #1 provided internal information about the project and approved additional costly changes that increased payments from Amtrak to the contractor by over $52 million through various change orders or contract modifications.
Court filings state that some work costs were falsely inflated under these change orders. This resulted in Amtrak being overbilled by more than $2 million for completion of the station repairs.
United States Attorney David Metcalf stated: "This case was investigated by the FBI, Amtrak Office of Inspector General, and Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jason Grenell."
Publication of this press release was delayed due to a federal government shutdown from October 1 to November 12, 2025.
