Caltrans Bribery Case Appears to Grow More Challenging for Walnut Creek Defendants

A senior Caltrans transportation engineer pleaded guilty Tuesday in connection with a bribery and fraud case, and has agreed to testify against two Walnut Creek co-defendants, whose software and communications company was contracted to provide work for the state transportation agency. 

The U.S. Attorney's Office and FBI announced that Clint Gregory, 48, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton to bribery, bid rigging, and fraud in connection with contracts issued by the California Department of Transportation to Infotek Associates, based in Oakland and operated by the two Walnut Creek residents. Gregory admitted that as a result of the fraud, Caltrans lost more than $1.2 million.

Gregory's co-defendants are Siavash "Mike" Poursartip, 56, and Sara Shirazi, 52, who were arraigned August 27, pleaded not guilty to the charges and were released on $50,000 unsecured bonds. 

The case against Gregory, Poursatip, and Shirazi stems from a joint investigation by the FBI and the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office. 

Poursartip and Shirzi are charged with bribing Gregory, an engineer with Caltrans District 10 in Stockton, with money, a Persian rug and a cell phone in exchange for contracts.

In a statement issued in late July, U.S Attorney Benjamin Wagner and FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Drew Parenti said that Poursartip and Shirazi offered, and Gregory accepted, bribes in exchange for being awarded Calrans contracts valued at less than $130,000. Gregory deposited the bribe payments into bank accounts held in the names of business entities he controlled, authorities said.

The indictment also said that the three circumvented Caltrans' competitive bidding process, which requires bids from at least two certified vendors, and arranged for third-party companies to submit straw bids for contracts, on which Poursatip and Shirazi's Infotek was bidding.

The three then set the bid amount of the straw bids, and Infotek's bids, to predetermine the "winners." The straw companies, which performed no work, were paid a commission for their assistance, and this arrangement was not disclosed to Caltrans. 

Poursartip also is accused of submitting false and misleading invoices to Caltrans regarding the work that Infotek and the straw companies performed. 

As part of his plea Tuesday, Gregory admitted that he was as part of the bribery and fraud scheme and that he abused his authority at Caltrans to approve fraudulent invoices submitted by Infotek and others. As a result, Infotek received payment for work that was never performed. Gregory also admitted that he asked Infotek to provide him with a fictitious invoice to conceal an unlawful purchase he made for parts for his personal airplane. Shirazi prepared the invoice, and Gregory submitted it to Caltrans.

Gregory is scheduled to be sentenced January 4, 2011 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, but his actual sentence will be determined by the judge after consideration of the federal sentencing guidelines.

If convicted, Poursartip and Shirazi each face 35 years in prison. 

Infotek describes itself as a software and communications company based in Oakland. An October 2008 news release notes that Infotek's public-private partnership demonstration with Caltrans, in using a device to monitor commercial truck traffic in the Los Angeles area, had received national notice for innovation. Poursatip was listed as the company's founder and CEO and as an applied engineering expert who holds several patents and who had previously worked in the aerospace and defense industries.