SACRAMENTO, CA – Dumitru Martin, 55, of Romania, will spend the next 13 years behind bars after being sentenced today for his role in a brazen bribery scheme targeting a high-level United States Air Force (USAF) contracting officer. U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley handed down the sentence, following a thorough investigation and prosecution led by U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert.
The scheme, hatched between June 2014 and December 2015, involved Martin, the owner of Romanian company Polaris M. Holdings, and his employees: Anamaria Cruceru, 49; Constantin Schiller, 63; and Marcelle Banaga, 41 – all of Romania. Court documents reveal the quartet conspired to secure multiple multimillion-dollar contracts for Polaris by offering a 10 percent “commission” – a thinly veiled bribe – to the USAF official. They even devised a plan to mask the illegal payments through fictitious consulting and commercial contracts, a pathetic attempt at concealment.
The target: a contract to supply storage containers to Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Romania, valued at over $10 million. In September 2015, Martin personally traveled to Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California, to finalize the fraudulent bid documents and the sham contracts designed to funnel over $1 million in bribe money. Polaris subsequently wired $100,000 from Romania to a U.S. bank account as an initial payment. What Martin and his crew didn’t know? The contracting officer was working with federal investigators. No contract was ever coming.
“The Eastern District of California has many military and other government facilities that obligate taxpayer money in the course of negotiating high-dollar contracts,” stated U.S. Attorney Talbert. “The sentence imposed today acknowledges the importance of rooting out corruption and protecting the integrity of the contracting process. My office is committed to investigating and prosecuting those who attempt to bribe public officials or who engage in other acts of public corruption that undermine the public’s confidence in the integrity of the government.”
Judge Nunley didn’t mince words at sentencing, stating, “bribery is not a victimless crime.” He rightly pointed out how such schemes create a “pay-to-play environment” where honest competition is suffocated. The judge’s comments underscore the corrosive effect of corruption on fair business practices and public trust. This wasn’t just about money; it was about undermining the system.
The case was spearheaded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Beckwith and Todd Pickles handling the prosecution. Cruceru, Schiller, and Banaga have all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and are scheduled to be sentenced on May 11, 2017, each facing a maximum of five years in prison. While their sentences will depend on a variety of factors, one thing is clear: this crew thought they could buy their way into a lucrative deal. They were dead wrong.
Related Federal Cases
- Bribes for Green Cards Land Official 30 Months · California
- Ex-Anaheim Mayor Admits to Angels Stadium Scheme · Arizona
- China’s Long Arm: Pair Bribed IRS, Targeted Falun Gong · California
- Blue Wall Lies: Sheriff’s Deputy Admits Cover-Up · California
- Ex-Deputy Traded Badge for Crypto Cash, Gets 5+ Years · California
Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
🔒 Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Public CorruptionPublic CorruptionPublic CorruptionPublic Corruption