NEWARK — A Union City official, Washington Borgono, 65, of North Bergen, admitted Tuesday in federal court that he rigged the process of selecting contractors for home rehabilitation and sidewalk replacement projects, according to a release from the office of U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.
Borgono pleaded guilty to one count of obtaining by fraud, converting and misapplying government funds. The scheme, prosecutors said, caused losses of between $40,000 and $95,000.
When the Union City Community Development Agency received the funding for the home and sidewalk projects from the federal government Borgono was a compliance officer.
According to court documents, Borgono manipulated the hiring process by getting competitors to submit artificially high bids so that favored firms could submit winning bids.
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