Newsletter May 2016

New Jersey Pay-to-Play Drama Continues with Guilty Plea of Another Former Executive

May 2016

By D. Mark Renaud and Louisa Brooks

We reported in March that the former CEO of Birdsall Services Group, Howard Birdsall, had pleaded guilty to corporate misconduct after a scheme to evade New Jersey’s pay-to-play laws came to light. The unfortunate story of this once-respected engineering firm’s downfall continues to unfold. On April 22nd, Howard Birdsall was formally sentenced to four years in prison. Then, on May 2nd, New Jersey’s Acting Attorney General announced that William Birdsall, brother of Howard Birdsall and also a former executive of the firm, has also pleaded guilty to corporate misconduct for his role in the scheme. William Birdsall paid $129,115 to the state, representing the amount of the illegal political contributions for which he received reimbursement from the company, as well as a $75,000 penalty for public corruption profiteering.

William Birdsall will be sentenced on July 11th. Two other former executives, Thomas Rospos and Scott MacFadden, are also awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty earlier this year.

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