A Stoneham Police officer and his brother had been indicted by a federal grand jury on costs that they milked greater than $36 million from an vitality effectivity program funded by vitality prospects.
Stoneham Police Officer Joseph Ponzo, 48, and his brother Christopher Ponzo, 47, of North Reading, had been indicted on one depend of wire conspiracy and 12 counts of wire fraud. The FBI arrested the pair Friday morning “without incident,” a spokeswoman advised the Herald.
The feds allege the brothers bribed an unnamed affiliate at a lead vendor for the Mass Save program to ensure that firms they management to get thousands and thousands of {dollars} in contracts.
“We are definitely delinquents!!!! I’ll let the pro handle the invoices!!” Joseph Ponzo allegedly emailed his brother, Christopher, and the unnamed affiliate in May 2013 as they deliberate contract invoices, in response to the indictment.
The alleged bribes began at $1,000 every week in 2013 and snowballed into $10,000 bonuses and costly items together with an Apple MacBook and a John Deere tractor with a backhoe and loader, in response to the indictment, because the alleged scheme obtained extra complicated over time.
Mass Save is an initiative funded by a state-mandated electrical invoice surcharge wherein regional vitality firms, together with National Grid and Eversource, work with the Department of Energy Resources to advertise vitality effectivity within the Bay State, in response to its web site.
The tons of of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in Mass Save vitality effectivity funds are disbursed to “lead vendors,” certainly one of which the unnamed affiliate works for. These firms are tasked with contracting vitality conservation and enchancment work for shoppers, in response to the indictment.
The indictment alleges that Christopher Ponzo, an electrician, began bribing the affiliate to make sure the seller granted his firm, CAP Electric, thousands and thousands in contract work.
Joseph Ponzo was looped in to his personal contracts when the opposite two allegedly helped him create an insulation firm, Air Tight, below his partner’s title. Joseph Ponzo and his partner haven’t any expertise in vitality effectivity insulation, in response to the indictment.
The affiliate was allegedly paid additional to assist out with the alleged Air Tight scheme, together with serving to it to change into an accredited Mass Save contractor and to deal with billing and invoicing for tasks.
Joseph Ponzo then allegedly subcontracted the work, getting $3.4 million from the lead vendor firm from 2015 to 2017, simply sufficient to buy an $830,000 trip house in Marco Island, Fla., in June 2018.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”