A former New York Presbyterian Hospital purchasing official pled guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to conspiring to rig bids on re-insulation service contracts.
Salvatore Scotto-DiVetta, who held various supervisory positions at NYPH, was charged with participating in a conspiracy that took place from as early as 2000 until at least March 2005.
According to federal investigators, Scotto-DiVetta conspired with others to create the appearance that contracts for re-insulation services at NYPH were awarded in accordance with its competitive bidding policy. To create the illusion of a competitive bidding process, the conspirators would submit high, noncompetitive bids. In exchange for awarding the contracts to a designated bidder, Scotto-DiVetta received approximately $25,000 in kickbacks in cash and gift cards.
From as early as May 2001 until August 2005, investigators said, Scotto-DiVetta and others created a company to purchase equipment parts on behalf of NYPH at fraudulently inflated prices. Approximately $74,000 in profits were made from this scheme.
Scotto-DiVetta is charged with bid rigging, a violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
Scotto-DiVetta is also charged with fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
Anyone with information concerning bid rigging, bribery, tax offenses or fraud related to contracts administered by the Facilities Operations Department at NYPH, the Engineering Department at NYPH, or the Engineering Department at Mount Sinai Medical Center is being asked to contact the New York Field Office of the Antitrust Division, or the New York Division of the FBI.