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Office of Inspector General |
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| Title: | Bridge Contractor Employee Pleads Guilty to Delivering a Bribe in Oklahoma Hazmat Disposal Case |
| Date: | April 22, 2005 |
| Type: | Investigation |
| Summary: | On April 22, Nikoleta M. Tiliakos, ecretary/Treasurer for J & N International Coatings, Inc. (J&N), Houston, TX, pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City, OK to charges of delivering a $3,000 bribe to a former Oklahoma state contract inspector to falsify paperwork allowing the company to illegally dispose of hazardous materials in a landfill. J&N held two contracts with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to sandblast lead-based paint from bridges in Oklahoma and dispose of debris in a hazardous material landfill. In exchange for the bribes, the inspector modified waste analysis reports and other documents which allowed J&N to dispose of hazardous waste in non-hazardous waste landfills – thus saving the company thousands of dollars in disposal fees at the expense of increasing risk to public health. Sentencing for Tiliakos has not yet been set. The ongoing investigation is being conducted jointly with EPA-CID, with assistance from OK-DOT. |