Donald Seefeldt, Conspiracy to Commit Federal Program Bribery, Pennsylvania 2024

Bribery Scheme Exposed at 30th Street Station

A former executive at a masonry contractor has pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe an Amtrak employee in exchange for over $50 million in extra work on the 30th Street Station project in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Donald Seefeldt, 65, of Wilmette, Illinois, entered a plea of guilty on December 7, 2023 before United States District Court Judge Wendy Beetlestone to a one-count information charging him with conspiracy to commit federal program bribery.

As presented in the information, on or about December 10, 2015, a masonry restoration contractor was awarded a $58,473,000 contract by Amtrak to be the main contractor on a façade repair and restoration project at Amtrak’s 30th Street Station in Philadelphia.

Federal funding supplied approximately 90 percent of the money Amtrak used to pay the contractor for the repair and restoration of the 30th Street Station façade.

Defendant Seefeldt was the Senior Executive Vice President of the contractor with responsibility to provide executive oversight of the contractor’s performance on the 30th Street Station façade project.

According to the information, Seefeldt and others provided Amtrak Employee #1 with gifts and other things of value totaling approximately $323,686, including paid vacations, jewelry, cash, dinners, entertainment, and transportation, to ensure that Amtrak Employee #1 used his power and influence to benefit the contractor during the performance of the 30th Street Station Repair and Restoration Project.

In return for these gifts and other things of value, Amtrak Employee #1 allegedly used his position at Amtrak to access internal agency information available only to Amtrak employees about the 30th Street Station Project and shared this internal information with the defendant and other officials with the contractor.

The information further alleges that Amtrak Employee #1 used his position at Amtrak to approve invoices, change orders, and requests for payment that the contractor submitted to Amtrak, resulting in over $50 million in extra work on the project.

In total, Seefeldt and others allegedly received over $323,686 in gifts and other things of value in exchange for their corrupt actions.

Seefeldt is currently awaiting sentencing and faces up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

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