N.J. Man Pleads Guilty to Interstate Travel to Promote and Facilitate Commercial Bribery

A former operations manager of a transfer and recycling station in Plainfield, N.J., pleaded guilty to traveling and causing the travel in interstate commerce to promote and facilitate commercial bribery, admitting he caused an individual who hauled waste and recyclable material to travel in interstate commerce, and thereafter accepted bribe payments from that individual on numerous occasions.

Michael Mongelli pleaded guilty to one-count Information charging a violation of the Travel Act before U.S. District Senior Judge Dickinson Debevoise.

At his plea hearing, Mongelli admitted that, from October 2007 to February 2009, he repeatedly accepted cash from an individual who was contracted to transport recyclables and waste from the transfer station where Mongelli was employed to an incineration facility in Chester, Pa.

Mongelli stated that the amount of payments started at about $20 per load transported and graduated to about $100 per load. In total, Mongelli admitted he received more than $30,000. In exchange, Mongelli admitted that he ensured that the individual continued to receive hauling business from the transfer station where Mongelli was employed.

The charge carries a maximum statutory penalty of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In determining an actual sentence, Judge Debevoise will consult the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges that take into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the defendant’s criminal history, if any, and other factors, including acceptance of responsibility.