The Amtrak bribery settlement requires a contractor and its owner to resolve $7.26 million in civil claims tied to Philadelphia’s historic 30th Street Station façade renovation.

William H. Gray III 30th Street Station in Philadelphia
William H. Gray III 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. Photo: Ajay Suresh, CC BY 2.0.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania⁠ said Mark 1 Restoration Company and owner Mark Snedden agreed to a $7,257,232.12 resolution. The civil action concerns kickbacks allegedly used to secure favorable changes to the station renovation contract. 

Amtrak bribery settlement combines cash and retained funds

Under the agreement, Mark 1 and Snedden will pay $2.4 million. They will also release Amtrak from claims to $4,857,232.12 that the passenger railroad retained or did not pay after discovering the scheme. 

Federal filings and guilty pleas in related criminal cases established that Snedden and other Mark 1 executives provided an Amtrak employee with approximately $323,686 in cash, travel, jewelry, meals, entertainment, a dog and dog training.

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In exchange, the employee helped the contractor obtain change orders and other contract modifications. Amtrak’s Office of Inspector General⁠ said the former project manager approved more than $52 million in additional work and supplied internal project information. Prosecutors said inflated costs led to more than $2 million in overbilling.

Main concourse inside Amtrak’s 30th Street Station
The main concourse inside Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. Photo: Jawny80, public domain.

Criminal cases preceded the Amtrak bribery settlement

Four Mark 1 executives were previously sentenced for their roles in the scheme. Snedden received a 90-month prison sentence, one year of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and joint restitution of $2,062,374. Donald Seefeldt received 57 months in prison, Lee Maniatis received 18 months, and Khaled Dallo received two months. 

The Federal Railroad Administration also suspended the company and the four executives from federally funded procurement and non-procurement activities. Federal funding covered about 90% of the money Amtrak used to pay the contractor for the façade project. 

The civil case was investigated by the FBI, Amtrak OIG and the U.S. Department of Transportation OIG⁠. The Justice Department stressed that the claims resolved through the civil settlement remain allegations and that no civil liability determination was made.

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