BOSTON, MA – In a shocking case of corruption, former Stoneham Auxiliary Police Officer Christopher Ponzo, 50, of North Reading, was sentenced to 27 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release, for his role in a bribery and kickback scheme that netted millions of dollars in Mass Save contracts.
Ponzo was ordered to pay a $300,000 fine as part of his sentence. He pleaded guilty in November 2024 to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, 24 counts of honest services wire fraud, and one count of making false statements to government officials.
Ponzo was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2023, along with his brother Joseph Ponzo. The indictment alleged that Christopher Ponzo, along with his brother and co-conspirator, conspired to pay, and did pay, tens of thousands of dollars in cash bribes, kickbacks, and other in-kind benefits to Company A employees in exchange for their assistance in getting the defendants millions of dollars in Mass Save contracts.
The Mass Save program is a state-run initiative that requires utility companies to collect an energy efficiency surcharge on all Massachusetts energy consumers. The funds collected are then disbursed by the utility companies to fund energy efficiency programs and initiatives in Massachusetts.
Ponzo paid Associate 1 $1,000 in cash on a weekly basis from 2013 to 2017, and at times paid as much as $5,000 to $10,000 in cash, telling Associate 1 that the extra money was from Joseph Ponzo for his part in the bribery scheme. In return for these payments, Associate 1 helped Joseph Ponzo set up a shell company, Air Tight, to do insulation work and get approved as a Company A contractor under the Mass Save program.
Despite having no professional experience in residential insulation work, Joseph Ponzo collected over $7 million under the Mass Save program. Ponzo and his brother were also accused of paying Associate 2 thousands of dollars in cash and hiring a relative of Associate 2 as part of the ongoing scheme.
The case was announced by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley, Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Boston, and Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Maynard and Dustin Chao of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.
Joseph Ponzo pleaded guilty in November 2024 and is scheduled to be sentenced on February 28, 2025.
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Public Corruption|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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