Former Division of Highways employee sentenced for his role in pay-to-play scheme

Topics:  Bruce E. Kenney, III

U.S. Attorney’s Office
Northern District of West Virginia
8 August 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Bruce E. Kenney, III, 61, of Norfolk, Virginia, was sentenced today to 21 months incarceration on each of the two counts, to be served concurrently, for wire and tax fraud charges, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen announced.

Kenney admitted that he used his position in the Traffic Engineering Division of the West Virginia Division of Highways to bypass normal state procedures and funnel structure inspection work to the Dennis Corporation in exchange for covert payments totaling approximately $200,000. He entered a guilty plea to one count of “Honest Services Wire Fraud Conspiracy,” and also to one count of “Conspiracy to Impede the Internal Revenue Service” in December 2016.

Kenney was ordered to pay $34,714 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, which represents the amount of tax loss. Kenney was also ordered to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $162,536.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jarod J. Douglas and Sarah W. Montoro prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The case was investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Public Corruption Unit, which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the West Virginia Commission on Special Investigations, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the West Virginia State Police.

Citizens with information regarding public corruption in their community are encouraged to call the West Virginia Public Corruption Hotline at 855-WVA-FEDS (855-982-3337), or to send an email to wvafeds@usdoj.gov.

Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp, Jr. presided.