On October 4, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced that George Chrysanthopoulos of Little Silver, New Jersey was indicted for paying $350,000 in kickbacks to the New Jersey Department of Transportation and a private port terminal operator as well.  He is believed to have paid the kickbacks and bribes in order to receive construction contracts worth millions of dollars.  

According to the indictment, Chrysanthopoulos paid cash bribes to a private terminal operator in Port Elizabeth between the years of 2002 and 2008 in order to obtain construction contracts for his company, Tarheel Enterprises Inc.  Chrysanthopoulos agreed to pay the employee $20,000 for every $5 million that Tarheel made from the terminal operator.  

The same employee began working with law enforcement and he arranged meetings with Chrysanthopoulos between February 2011 and April 2011.  During the meetings, the employee and Chrysanthopoulos discussed the kickbacks and about $150 million in construction projects.  The following statement was recorded: “We could do the same thing like we did last time, George…like for every $5 million, I get 20 grand, boom…I’ll be happy, man.”  Chrysanthopoulos responded with the following statement: “I know what the parameters are…20 per give.”  

During the same meeting, Chrysanthopoulos gave names of bidders that would be invited to a 2011 project bid.  The FBI reports that Chrysanthopoulos paid about $48,000 in bribes to a NJDOT engineer in order to receive the engineer’s influence for $44 million contract that was eventually awarded to Tarheel.

Chrysanthopoulos faces a combined maximum sentence of 100 years in prison.  He also faces a $250,000 penalty for each count of mail and wire fraud.  Prosecutors are asking that Chrysanthopoulos forfeit $17 million of the proceeds.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Harvey Bartle is prosecuting this case.  

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation