4th ODOT inspector is charged in scam with bridges
CLEVELAND (AP) -- A fourth state inspector has been accused of accepting bribes from contractors to overlook poor work in highway bridge-painting projects.
A federal grand jury indicted Elwood Clark, 49, of Cleveland, on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States by accepting bribes from painting contractors and filing fraudulent inspection reports. The Ohio Department of Transportation inspector also faces one count of accepting bribes and four counts of making false statements on a federally funded highway project.
Clark has an unlisted number and could not be reached for comment Thursday. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Prosecutors accuse Clark accepting bribes from 1993 to 2000 to allow contractors to use lesser amounts of paint than specified in the contract and to skip prep work like scraping and priming of bridge surfaces.
Two other inspectors have pleaded guilty. Two Ohio companies that were paid $750,000 to paint the bridges also were charged.
Contractors gave the inspectors cash, turkeys and sports tickets so the inspectors would allow shoddy work, prosecutors said. The companies then could do less work with fewer materials and make more profit.