Summary

Frederick Paul Splinter, a former GS-14 superintendent of the MARAD Ready Reserve Fleet in Beaumont, TX, was ordered by a U.S. District Court judge in Beaumont to pay $127,500 in restitution, spend 2 years in jail without parole, and serve 12 months of supervised release for receiving gratuities from a MARAD contractor. Splinter must pay $77,500 in restitution to MARAD, as well as an additional $50,000 to MARAD to avoid forfeiting his residence. Splinter’s home was partially paid for by W.B. Construction Co., Inc., as part of a long-running scheme to rig bids at the Beaumont MARAD facility. MARAD removed Splinter from his position during the investigation. Wallace Batiste and W.B. Construction pleaded guilty in May 2001 to mail fraud in connection with the bid-rigging scheme and were sentenced in April 2002 to $30,000 and $96,000, respectively. OIG conducted the investigation jointly with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the FBI.