Another executive charged in Amtrak 30th Street Station bribery case involving cash, overseas vacations — and a German shepherd
In exchange for gifts from Mark Snedden, prosecutors say, an Amtrak manager approved tens of millions of dollars in extra expenses for the project to restore the train station's facade.
The owner and president of an Illinois-based masonry restoration firm was accused of conspiring to bribe an Amtrak manager who oversaw a $100 million renovation project at 30th Street Station, becoming the fourth official to face charges in the case, federal prosecutors in Philadelphia said Friday.
Mark Snedden, 69, of Munster, Ind., and employees at his firm, Mark 1 Restoration, lavished the project manager, Ajith Bhaskaran, with $323,686 in gifts including cash, a Tourneau watch, vacations to India and Ecuador — and a German shepherd, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday.
In exchange, prosecutors say, from 2016 through 2019, Bhaskaran used his authority to approve tens of millions of dollars in expenses that nearly doubled the cost of the project to restore the train station’s facade, for which Mark 1 had initially been awarded a $58 million contract. Prosecutors do not contend that all of that extra work was bogus — but they say it crossed the line into criminality because it flowed from a corrupt agreement.
In addition, prosecutors say, Snedden and others allegedly falsely inflated some of the costs, causing Amtrak to be overbilled by about $2 million.
Snedden was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and making and presenting a false claim. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted, according to the office of U.S. Attorney David Metcalf. Snedden is scheduled to be arraigned on April 30 before U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone.
Neither Snedden nor his attorneys immediately responded to requests for comment Friday. Three current and former executives at Snedden’s company have already pleaded guilty in the case: Donald Seefeldt, Lee Maniatis, and Khaled Dallo.
Seefeldt in February admitted to conspiring to bribe Bhaskaran. The plea agreements struck by prosecutors and Maniatis and Dallo last year remained under seal Friday. The three men are set to be sentenced later this spring.
Bhaskaran, the Amtrak manager, died in 2020. He isn’t named in the charging document but it’s clear from the description of the project manager who oversaw the project that prosecutors contend he was the person who received the gifts.