The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has announced that Joseph W. Nagle of Deerfield Beach, Florida and Ernest G. Fink, Jr. of Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania, the former owners of Schuylkill Products Inc., (SPI) had their sentences affirmed by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Nagle was sentenced to 84 months’ imprisonment on November 30, 2015, and Fink was sentenced to 41 months’ imprisonment on February 24, 2016, for their roles in a massive conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Disadvantage Enterprise (DBE) program.
According to USDOT, their scheme, which lasted for over 15 years and involved over $136 million in government contracts in Pennsylvania alone, is the largest reported DBE fraud in the nation’s history.
In April 2012, after a four-week jury trial, a jury convicted Nagle on 26 charges relating to the scheme, including conspiracy to defraud USDOT, mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. Fink previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the USDOT in August 2010.
In 2014, three other former executives associated with SPI were sentenced for their roles in the scheme.
- Romeo P. Cruz, of Westhaven, Connecticut, the former owner of Marikina Construction Corp., which operated as a front for SPI, was sentenced to 33 months’ imprisonment.
- Timothy G. Hubler, of Ashland, Pennsylvania, SPI’s former Vice-President in charge of field operations, was sentenced to 33 months’ imprisonment.
- Dennis F. Campbell, of Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania, SPI’s former Vice-President in charge of sales and marketing, was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, USDOT’s Inspector General’s Office, the U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General’s Office, and the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS.
