Federal Transportation Department Supervisor Charged with Accepting a Bribe

Topics:  Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of New York
January 20, 2011

BUFFALO, NY—United States Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr., announced today that a criminal complaint was filed in U.S. District Court charging James H. Wood, 44, of Delevan, New York, with a felony charge of accepting a bribe in his official duties. The offense carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.

U.S. Attorney Hochul said the complaint was based on an ongoing investigation by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General Investigations. The affidavit supporting the complaint alleges that Wood, in his capacity as a field office supervisor for the Buffalo, NY office of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), took money in exchange for delaying a compliance review/safety audit of a trucking company. Wood appeared in U.S. District Court today for arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty. A detention hearing is scheduled for February 1, 2011.

The case against James H. Wood is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross, Deputy Chief of the White Collar General Crimes Division, with the assistance of the FBI under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James Robertson and the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, Investigation Division under the direction of Ned E. Schwartz, Special Agent- in-Charge.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.