BOSTON – The principal of a Connecticut environmental consulting firm was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Springfield for paying bribes to procure consulting contracts at higher educational institutions in Massachusetts and New York.
Stephen Dinapoli, 42, of Wilton, Conn., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to two years of probation. Dinapoli was also ordered to pay forfeiture of $66,718. The government recommended a sentence of two years in prison. On Dec. 21, 2021, Dinapoli pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and two counts of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
Dinapoli is the principal of Big East Environmental, an environmental project management and consulting firm based in Connecticut. From 2015 to 2019, Dinapoli paid cash bribes to co-conspirator Floyd Young, who held positions involving facility maintenance at three collegiate institutions including American International College (AIC) in Springfield, Mass. Specifically, Dinapoli paid Young in cash during face-to-face meetings in order to obtain contracts for environmental consulting work at AIC, Cornell Tech and Cooper Union. These bribes were typically 15% of the value for each contract with the collegiate institutions. In total, Dinapoli paid Young $66,718 in bribes to procure contracts with a total value of approximately $444,786.
Young was charged in a separate case and, in August 2020, pleaded guilty to steering contracts for construction, repair, maintenance and other work for the collegiate institutions to favored contractors, including Dinapoli, in exchange for bribe payments typically in the amount of 15% of the contract. A sentencing hearing for Young has not yet been scheduled by the Court.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Breslow of Rollins’ Springfield Branch Office prosecuted the case.