Former FHWA Official Jailed

A former official at the Federal Highway Administration was sentenced to more than three years in prison for his role in a bribery scandal.

Alberto Santiago, the former Chief of State programs at FWHA, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to 37 months in jail and three years of probation. He must also pay a $5,000 fine.

Mr. Santiago pleaded guilty in August to bribery, conspiracy and money laundering charges. Authorities said Mr. Santi-ago took more than $150,000 in bribes from government contractors. The contractors, most of whom worked on advanced highway-vehicle technology, financed the kick-backs by working with Mr. Santiago to submit false bills to the government.

An on-going investigation has led to the arrests of two of the contractors. Ajay Rathi of Lockheed Martin pleaded guilty to submitting false claims to the federal government and to paying unlawful gratuities to Mr. Santiago. Hobih Chen, the president of Viggen Corp., pleaded guilty to conspiracy, bribery and money laundering charges.

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