Contractors sentenced for kickback scheme at Fort Dix

Two contractors from a Pennsylvania construction company are going to federal prison for their roles in an employee extortion scheme while working on a project at Fort Dix.

A judge on Tuesday sentenced 68-year-old Leonard Santos of Yardley, Pennsylvania, to 85 months in prison.

The owner of Sands Mechanical of Bristol, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obtain kickbacks from public works employees and causing persons to travel in interstate commerce to commit a crime of violence.

The company’s general manager, 59-year-old Alex Rabinovich of Richboro, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to three years’ probation. Rabinovich pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make payoffs to a contractor’s representative for receiving favorable treatment when bidding on federal construction projects.

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The men were accused of threatening employees into paying back part of their wages.

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