WHEELING, W.Va. — A former West Virginia Division of Highways employee was sentenced Tuesday to 21 months in prison in connection to funneling work to a South Carolina-based firm.
Bruce Kenney III, 61, of Norfolk, Virginia, previously admitted he used his position with the Traffic Engineering Division to bypass state procedures to give inspection work to Dennis Corporation. The move was made in exchange for covert payments totaling approximately $200,000.
He entered guilty pleas in December 2016 to one count of honest services wire fraud conspiracy and a county of conspiracy to impede the Internal Revenue Service.
According to acting U.S. Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen, Kenney was ordered to pay $34,714 to the IRS and a forfeiture money judgment of $162,536.
Andrew Nichols, of Lesage, pleaded guilty in June for his role in the scheme. Nichols is also an engineering professor at Marshall University.