Robert Datillo pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud against a number of public agencies.
TRENTON -- It may not be the best idea to sell low-grade or "reject" industrial products to the New York Department of Corrections, but that's what a part-owner of a Linden industrial and commercial supplies company admitted in federal court Thursday.
Robert R. Dattilo, 61, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan that his company, Bayway Lumber, not only sold inferior products to the city corrections department, but also took advantage of hospitals, local governments, the New York Transit Authority, Con Edison and other agencies, according to court records.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for New Jersey said the fraud in all totaled more than $708,000.
From 2007 through last November, Dattilo conspired with others -- including employees from the agencies that were being overcharged -- to fraudulently bill for products. In some cases, court records show, the agencies were charged for more products than they received. In others, they were given lower-quality products that were covered up.
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According to court papers, employees at Amtrak and an unidentified Bergen County business accepted Yankees tickets, computer equipment, a camera and other gifts. In return, they made sure Bayway was able to get reimbursed for more than they supplied in their contracts, covering the cost of the "gifts."
Sometimes, the markup was 200 to 300 percent, court papers said.
Court records also state that Bayway, at Datillo's direction, bought items for the Plainfield Board of Education and recovered the cost of the items, and more, in subsequent contracts.
Representatives from the Plainfield Board of Education and Amtrak were not immediately available for comment.
Court records show Datillo kept a running tally of the gifts and what was owed, calling the ledger "the bank."
In other examples, Bayway sometimes manually altered invoices to bill higher prices to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and its successors, Rutgers University and University Hospital; charged the transit authority for the most expensive doors, frames and hardware although it provided less-expensive items; and covered up lower-quality lumber to the Philadelphia Housing Authority, Con Edison, the corrections department and the city of Newark, the U.S. Attorney's office said.
The maximum sentence for Datillo's guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud is 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
He also may be required to make restitution when he is sentenced May 23.
Tim Darragh may be reached at tdarragh@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @timdarragh. Find NJ.com on Facebook.