United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

FORMER CONNECTICUT DOT CONTRACTOR IS SENTENCED

Kevin J. O’Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that FREDERICK “FRITZ” KELLY, age 51, of 12 Knollwood Drive, Branford, Connecticut was sentenced today by United States District Judge Mark R. Kravitz in New Haven to two years of probation. Judge Kravitz also ordered KELLY to perform 75 hours of community service and to pay restitution to the Connecticut Department of Transportation (“Conn-DOT”) in the amount of $3000. On July 5, 2006, KELLY waived indictment and pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to federal investigators.

According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, this matter stems from an investigation into corrupt practices surrounding the renovation of the Conn-DOT offices on the fourth floor of Union Station in New Haven in 2003 and 2004. The renovation project was performed by Merritt Builders, a company owned by Louis Testa. As part of his guilty plea, KELLY admitted that he was asked by Raymond Cox, the assistant rail administrator for Conn-DOT, to prepare two fake bids proposing bid amounts in excess of the bid that had been submitted by Merritt Builders so that it would falsely appear that the renovation project had been the subject of a competitive bidding process. Kelly did so. Later, Cox and Conn-DOT employee Saverio “Sonny” Sereno asked Kelly, and Kelly agreed, to revise the two fake bids so that they would exceed the amount that would be charged by Merritt Builders in light of subsequent change orders. Cox later arranged for Kelly to receive a total of $3000 for preparing the fake bids. Those payments came from Testa, and were eventually charged to the state renovation project. At sentencing, the Court required Kelly to repay that $3000 to the state.

During the federal investigation into these corrupt practices, Kelly was twice interviewed by federal law enforcement agents, in February and August 2005. While Kelly acknowledged that he had prepared the fake bids, he falsely stated, on both occasions, that he had not received anything of value in return, and that he had done so simply as a favor.

On June 19, 2006, Cox pleaded guilty to one count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and one count of obstructing justice. On October 19, Cox was sentenced to two months of imprisonment and seven months of home confinement. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $3000. On July 5, 2006, Sereno pleaded guilty to one count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds. On December 13, 2006, Sereno was sentenced to three years of probation, a fine of $2,000, and restitution to Conn-DOT of $6,403. On October 16, 2006, Louis Testa pleaded guilty to one count of subscribing to a false tax return. His sentencing is presently scheduled for March 2, 2007.

This matter was investigated by the United States Department of Transportation, Office of the Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and the Connecticut Department of Transportation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William J. Nardini.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov