Prospect resident Michael Uszakiewicz has waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty in New Haven federal court to a conspiracy offense related to a Stamford bribery scheme, announced U.S. Attorney John H. Durham. He is the third to plead guilty in the case.
The government said that Uszakiewicz, owner of K&M Fire Protection in Southington ”“ and other contractors ”“ paid Javed Choudhry, then an employee of Stamford construction company Building and Land Technology, between $250,000 and $500,000 in bribes from 2011 – 2014. The bribes were intended to steer millions of dollars worth of BLT contracts on construction in Stamford, prosecutors said.
Choudhry, of Glastonbury, already pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return in May 2017. On Jan. 22 of this year, Kevin Dunn, the president of Delmar Electrical Contractors in Watertown, admitted that he also paid bribes to Choudhry and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Both await sentencing.
Uszakiewicz pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. As part of his plea, Uszakiewicz agreed to forfeit $1,121,106, which was seized from his bank accounts on March 28, 2016.
Uszakiewicz is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford on July 9. He is currently free on a $100,000 bond pending sentencing.
