YOUNGSTOWN Bridge painter charged with bribing state inspectors

Another painter and an ODOT inspector also have cases against them.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- An Ohio Department of Transportation bridge inspector accepted bribes from Argo painting contractors George Ginnis of Campbell and Larry Frangos of Lowellville, the government says.
A federal grand jury in Cleveland handed up a two-count indictment Thursday against Ginnis, 57, of Harmony Lane. He is accused of giving $2,000 to ODOT inspector Jeffrey Burton in April 2001 when Burton was assigned to the Rocky River bridge project.
Ginnis also is accused of conspiring with others to bribe unnamed ODOT inspectors, who then allowed substandard performance.
The indictment identifies payoffs to an unidentified ODOT inspector in 1997, including a guitar and $500 cash; the $2,000 to Burton; and a $1,000 bribe to another unidentified ODOT inspector in summer 2002. The ODOT inspectors allegedly falsified their reports as to the quantity and quality of Argo's work.
An ODOT Web site lists Argo on Webb Road in Austintown.
"The object of the conspiracy was to minimize expense and maximize profit," the indictment alleges. The grand jury found that the compensation included "cash, boxes of steaks and seafood, machinery and tickets to sporting related events."
The case is being prosecuted by Thomas E. Getz and Richard H. Blake, assistant U.S. attorneys. It was investigated by the FBI and U.S. Department of Transportation office of the inspector general.
Another case
A one-count information filed Thursday charges Frangos, 56, of Kennedy Road, with bribery involving federal programs. He, too, is accused of giving Burton $2,000 in April 2001.
For the government to file an information, the defendant must waive his right to indictment by a grand jury. The defendant then, in nearly all cases, agrees to a plea agreement as part of the waiver.
Ginnis could not be reached. Frangos hung up on a reporter when asked about the charge.
Inspector
A one-count information filed under seal against Burton in March -- while the investigation continued -- was unsealed Thursday by court order. Court papers don't list his age or address.
In a news release, Gordon Proctor, ODOT director, said he was outraged to hear about the federal indictments, adding that the state agency has been "providing support to federal legal authorities in this matter."
"The employee in question has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of this case," Proctor said in the release. He added that any contractor found guilty would no longer be able to conduct business with the state.
The government said that, between January 1998 and April 1998, Burton created false reports as to the quantity or quality of the work performed with federally funded bridge painting projects administered by ODOT, including the Detroit Superior bridge project.
Also on Thursday, the grand jury handed up an indictment charging Atlas Central Corp., a painting company in Cleveland, with three counts of bribery. The government said Atlas, through its owners, officers, employees and agents, paid bribes to ODOT between 1999 and 2002 for bridge projects.
meade@vindy.com