Former New York City Employee Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Bribery on New York Pier 86 Project

WASHINGTON - Charles N. Kriss, a former New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services engineer, pleaded guilty to a one-count indictment, which was filed on June 5, 2008 in the U.S. District Court in Islip, N.Y., and charged him with accepting money in return for ensuring that a co-conspirator corporation received orders for plastic marine pilings on a project overseen by New York City to repair Pier 86.

Plastic marine pilings are reinforced synthetic pilings, resembling telephone poles, used as substitutes for traditional wood timber pilings in port and pier construction projects and other marine applications.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, Kriss has agreed to plead guilty, serve a sentence and pay a fine that will be determined by the court, and cooperate in the ongoing investigation. According to the charge, the conspiracy to bribe Kriss began in or about 1999 and continued until in or about 2003. See, USDOJ.

"Bribery undermines the benefit of competition, which lies at the heart of the Antitrust Division’s mission," said Thomas O. Barnett, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department’s Antitrust Division. "We prosecute such violations to the full extent of the law."