NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Two high-ranking Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office officials were charged Tuesday with taking bribes in a bid rigging scheme.
John P. Sens, 52, and Gerard J. Hoffman, 59, were charged with conspiracy to commit bribery. The allegations were outlined by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in two bills of information that said the contracts involved maintenance, construction and electrical work for the Sheriff’s Office.
Sens, a deputy who resigned Friday, had served as director of purchasing for Sheriff Marlin Gusman until last June, when he was assigned other duties while under investigation.
“The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office has a zero tolerance for illegal activity by any deputy or employee,” Gusman said in a statement late Tuesday. “The Sheriff’s Office has cooperated with every request made of us by the authorities in this case from the beginning. We will continue to cooperate fully.”
Prosecutors allege that Sens had a swimming pool installed at his Waveland, Miss., property at a value of $25,000 and received framed artwork worth more than $5,000 plus $30,000 cash for his role in the scheme.
Hoffman, a colonel in charge of the maintenance department, is alleged to have received $2,500 worth of free electrical work at a Louisiana residence, along with a storage container and a trailer worth about $5,000. He resigned last July.
The two federal bills of information mention $50,000 worth of contracts awarded in the alleged scheme, and state that there were other contracts.
If convicted on the conspiracy charges, Sens and Hoffman each could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and fined up to $250,000. Also, each bill of information states that the government will seek nearly $68,000 in proceeds traceable to the alleged scheme.
No hearing dates had been posted in the case as of Tuesday afternoon. Attempts to reach the men’s attorneys by telephone were unsuccessful.
Prosecutors said that, in addition to bribes, part of the conspiracy allegedly involved submission by the unidentified businessmen of phony bids in the names of local companies to give the appearance of a competitive bid process.
“In many cases, the phony bids would intentionally be higher than the bids from Businessman A or Businessman B and, consequently, Sens and/or Hoffman would award the work to Businessman A or Businessman B,” said the statement from U.S. Attorney Dana Boente.
