Intellacom identified as contractor in school kickback scam


A federal judge on March 31 identified the long-suspected president of a Plains Township, Pa., technology firm as the contractor who paid thousands of dollars in hidden kickbacks to a former Luzerne County school administrator facing prison in an ongoing corruption probe, reports the Standard Speaker. Anthony J. Trombetta of Intellacom Inc. paid Jeffrey J. Piazza $16,600 in illegal commissions after Piazza convinced colleagues at the Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center to purchase overpriced digital whiteboards from the firm, U.S. District Judge James M. Munley said, revealing details of a confidential pre-sentencing report. Munley’s disclosure, minutes before he sentenced Piazza to six months in prison for attempting to hide the bribes on tax returns, eviscerated a wall of secrecy federal prosecutors had built around Trombetta since he was first linked a year ago to an investigation into illicit contracting practices in the Pittston Area School District. No charges have been filed against Trombetta, whose technology and condominium development firms have since been tied to investigations into two other school districts and Luzerne County Community College. In the Piazza case, Trombetta made the payoffs after Piazza, the career and technical center’s technology director, conned school officials into believing Intellacom’s inflated whiteboard prices were fair, Munley said. In reality, the prices had been inflated to include the kickbacks—approximately $2,500 for each of the six $10,000 digital whiteboards installed at the school, according to the report…

Click here for the full story

Sign up for our K-12 newsletter

Newsletter: Innovations in K12 Education
By submitting your information, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Want to share a great resource? Let us know at submissions@eschoolmedia.com.

New AI Resource Center
Get the latest updates and insights on AI in education to keep you and your students current.
Get Free Access Today!

"*" indicates required fields

Hidden
Hidden
Hidden
Hidden
Hidden
Hidden
Hidden
Hidden
Hidden
Hidden
Email Newsletters:

By submitting your information, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

eSchool News uses cookies to improve your experience. Visit our Privacy Policy for more information.