Conn. contractor accused of offering bribes for road work

According to The Hartford Courant, state DOT employees are scheduled to appear before a one-judge grand jury this week to testify about a $250,000 road-patching contract awarded to Marino Brothers of New England Inc.

Sources close to the investigation claim employees from the DOT's maintenance and highway operations were taped accepting bribes such as golf outings and free meals from Marino Brothers staff while the contract was still pending.

The patching material used by Marino Brothers was questioned back in 2000, when skid tests conducted by Connecticut's DOT showed the product made the roads more slippery. Despite the poor grade, DOT officials still awarded Marino Brothers a contract to apply the cold patch on several roads. The contractor, who is denying any wrongdoing, has received $3 million from the state since the contract was signed.

"We believe that when all is said and done it will come out that false accusations were made by someone against Marino Brothers for some reason we have yet to determine," Attorney David Hoopes, who represents Marino Brothers, told the Courant. "Someone realized that all you have to do in the current environment when public corruption has such a high priority is make some allegations and that will start a witch hunt."