RICHMOND, Va. -- A former program manager with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles is facing a federal charge in connection to a conspiracy to intentionally commit wire fraud and defraud taxpayers.
Bruce Biondo is accused of using his position and influence at the DMV to defraud taxpayers and enrich himself, by soliciting and accepting gifts and payments from vendors in exchange for performing official actions that benefited them.
Biondo was employed by DMV for nearly 30 years, from December 1988 until March 2018. For most of his employment, Biondo served as the DMV's Motorcycle Safety Program Manager. Under that role, he was also responsible for the management and oversight of the VRTP.
According to a criminal complaint, Biondo had a significant amount of input over the awarding, modification, and maintaining licensing contracts to vendors.
That complaint detailed that Biondo also had the authority approve the contracts, the reimbursement eligibility, and the expense reimbursement requests.
Biondo is accused of soliciting, accepting, and receiving a stream of benefits from certain VRTP vendors beginning in around 2011, until in or about March 2018.
Specifically, Biondo is accused of accepting a $15,000 payment from the sham sale of a motorcycle in or about 2011 and additional cash payments totaling over $74,000 between in or about February 2014 and February 2018.
He is also accused of using a Ford F-450 pick-up truck for personal purposes.
In exchange for the benefits, Biondo, in his role as Motorcycle Safety Program Manager, agreed to preform specific official actions that would benefit the vendor, according to a criminal complaint.
Those actions include:
(1) Advising the insertion of a nonprofit requirement in the 2013 prime contract RFP and the 2014 prime contract. DMV included the non-profit requirement in the 2013 RFP and the 2014 prime contract. Such requirement had been mentioned in previous DMV grant manuals, but was not required by federal or state law.
(2) Approving training provider licenses for preferred corporate vendors on a reimbursed basis.
Biondo has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud.
Under the conspiracy, Biondo is accused of knowingly and intentionally conspiring with other persons known to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and 1346.
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