Michael Montenes, Bribery of a Federal Official, New York 2024

Michael Montenes, the owner of M.S. Hi-Tech, Incorporated (MSHT), a Hauppauge-based distributor of electronic components, pleaded guilty to bribery of a federal official in connection with a scheme to pay more than $18,000 in bribes to a Department of Energy (DOE) Procurement Officer in exchange for approximately $969,000 in DOE contracts.

Montenes, 61, of St. James, New York, appeared in federal court in Central Islip before United States Magistrate Judge Steven L. Tiscione. When sentenced, Montenes faces up to 15 years in prison.

As part of his guilty plea, Montenes agreed to forfeit approximately $969,000 and to pay DOE more than $1.8 million in restitution.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Teri L. Donaldson, Department of Energy Inspector General, announced the guilty plea.

“Like the faulty components that he bribed a government official to purchase and caused damage to a Department of Energy laboratory, Montenes’s scheme has gone down in flames and he must now face the consequences for his crime,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office will continue to root out corruption that undermines the integrity of competitive bidding in the procurement process.”

Mr. Peace thanked the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, for its work on the case.

The scheme, which took place between approximately December 2017 and December 2020, involved Montenes mailing payments, ranging from $500 to $7,200, from Long Island to a Procurement Officer in Virginia.

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