CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Two out of four individuals charged for their role in the state Division of Highways pay-to-play scheme pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday, according to U.S. Attorney Bill Ihlenfeld.
Ihlenfeld claimed those charged worked to steer contracts with the state DOH to Dennis Corporation, a South Carolina-based engineering company, in exchange for bribes and kickbacks.
Mark Rudolph Whitt, the former president and owner of Bayliss and Ramey, Inc., pleaded guilty to one count of Wire Fraud Conspiracy.
Prosecutors said Whitt, 52, of Winfield, admitted he used a maintenance contract to funnel construction work to Dennis Corporation.
Whitt faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Former DOH worker James Travis Miller, 40, of Hurricane, pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments. Prosecutors said Miller left the DOH to work for Dennis Corporation and that he delivered covert payments to Bruce Kenney, the mastermind of the scheme, in exchange for official actions that were done in favor of Dennis.
Miller also faces up to 20 years in prison and could pay a fine of up to $500,000.
Kenney, 60, of Norfolk, Virginia, and former Marshall University engineering professor Andrew Nichols, 38, of Lesage, are also charged in connection with the case.