PHILADELPHIA – A shocking bribery and procurement fraud scheme has rocked the city’s SEPTA system, with nine high-ranking officials and vendors charged in connection with the multi-year scandal.
Mark Irvello, 56, of Broomall, PA; Stanley Woloff, 58, of Philadelphia, PA; David Abell, 72, of Chincoteague Island, VA; Stephen Kish, 65, of Philadelphia, PA; Rodney Martinez, 50, of Blackwood, NJ; Jesse Fleck, 43, of Philadelphia, PA; Peter Brauner, 58, of Kintersville, PA; James Turner, 59, of Horsham, PA; and John Brady, 60, of Blue Bell, PA; were charged in separate Criminal Informations with bribery and fraud offenses.
The Informations allege that at various times from 2013 through 2019, management-level employees working in SEPTA’s Bridges and Buildings Department (“BBD”) engaged in bribery and theft schemes with two SEPTA vendors, defendants Mark Irvello of MSI Tool Repair and Supply (“MSI”), located in Upper Darby, PA; and Stanley Woloff of Advantage Industrial Supply (“AIS”), located in Philadelphia, PA.
According to the Informations, the BBD is responsible for maintaining, repairing, and renovating SEPTA facilities throughout the southeastern Pennsylvania region. To facilitate this work, SEPTA issues “procurement cards” (also known as P-Cards) to management-level employees working in the BBD.
In about 2013, defendant Abell, who was a Senior Director of Maintenance at SEPTA, agreed with defendant Irvello of MSI, and separately, with defendant Woloff of AIS (collectively “the vendors”), to exploit the P-Card system for their mutual benefit. Abell solicited the vendors to provide him with regular cash payments of approximately $1,000 to $2,000 per month. In exchange for those payments, the vendors falsely billed SEPTA through the P-Card system for items that the vendor was not providing to SEPTA.
At various times, beginning around 2014, several other SEPTA BBD managers began engaging in similar fraud activity with defendants Irvello and Woloff. Those managers included defendant Martinez, who in 2016 replaced Abell as Senior Director of Maintenance and took over Abell’s legitimate role in SEPTA’s BBD, as well as his role in the fraud and bribery scheme. Martinez regularly solicited cash payments from the vendors under the same arrangement that the vendors had with Abell. The cash payments to Martinez totaled over $144,000.
The most prolific participant in this fraud scheme was defendant Kish. Kish had Irvello make over $225,000 in purchases to benefit Kish. In most of these cases, Kish directed Irvello to purchase specific precious metals, particularly gold coins, each worth thousands of dollars.
The charges against the defendants include bribery and fraud offenses, with some facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The case is a stunning example of the depths to which corruption can sink in the city’s government institutions.
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Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Category: Public Corruption|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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