U.S. border official charged with bribery

Kristina Davis

A federal building manager of the Otay Mesa, San Ysidro and Tecate border crossings is accused of eliciting $120,000 in bribes from a contractor in exchange for awarding a half-million dollar contract, the FBI said Wednesday.

Timothy Cashman, who has worked for the General Services Administration for 14 years, is charged with conspiracy to bribe and give gratuities to a public official. He is also charged with stealing government property, specifically copper cable and aluminum panels from the Otay Mesa border crossing facility, to recycle for cash.

Cashman, a 53-year-old Lakeside resident, was arrested Tuesday at his San Ysidro office.

The investigation was launched following a tip from a contractor, who was recently sentenced in a similar scheme to bribe another government procurement official, Natividad “Nate” Cervantes, who referred to himself as the “Godfather of Camp Pendleton,” according to court documents.

The contractor, who cooperated with investigators, told authorities he’d heard Cashman was demanding bribes, the complaint says. Almost a year later, another contractor also convicted in the Camp Pendleton case, Hugo Alonso, told authorities that he had actually paid bribes to Cashman in exchange for lucrative contracts.

Their working relationship started in 2006, when Alonso’s company worked on the downtown bankruptcy courthouse and a project at the federal courthouse, the complaint says.

Cashman told the co-owner of Alonso’s company that he expected some benefit for getting them the job, but Alonso’s company refused, the records show

Later, according to the complaint, Cashman asked the contractor to paint and install windows at his home — for free — and this time the company agreed, deciding it would ensure more federal contracts.

In 2008, Cashman approached the contractors about a $537,500 re-roofing job at the Otay Mesa facility, offering to give the work to them in exchange for a $120,000 bribe, authorities say.

The bribe was disguised as payment for an “energy use audit” by another company Cashman said he was partnering with, the records show. But investigators said there is no evidence any audit was done.

Two $60,000 payments were made to the auditing company, which later made a series of payments to Cashman totaling $42,000, the complaint says.

Cashman is also accused of having his employees steal copper cable and aluminum panels from the Otay Mesa facility to sell for cash. The employees, who cooperated with investigators, recorded conversations about the theft with Cashman.

Cashman planned the thefts just weeks after he attended an ethics training class that covered how such theft was illegal, the records show.

Cashman was ordered Wednesday to remain jailed on $30,000 bond, to be secured by property. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Schopler said in court that he is considering filing additional charges, increasing the potential maximum sentence.

In arguing for bail, the federal defender’s office told the judge that Cashman was married with six kids and has lived in Lakeside for several years. He is a former soldier and has duel citizenship in Ireland. His family declined to speak with a reporter outside the courtroom.

The case is one of several examples of recent bribery investigations that have led to others around the county.

Alonso was sentenced to a year in prison last week for his role in the Camp Pendleton case, while another contractor, Bayani Abueg, got six months.

Both cooperated extensively with authorities, leading to their somewhat reduced sentences.

Cervantes, the official who saw construction contracts at the military base, is expected to be sentenced at the end of this month.

Source: utsandiego