| Two men have been indicted for allegedly taking illegal payments from outside contractors for services at UMass Amherst, and one man for allegedly making said payments, the AG’s office said in a statement yesterday.
John Strycharz, formerly a full-time supervisor at UMass Amherst who oversaw contractors doing asbestos, deleading, mold, PCB and other hazardous materials remediation for UMass, allegedly intentionally hid that he had a secret ownership or financial interest in Compass Restoration, a Ludlow-based company owned by Victor Rodrigues.
Strycharz allegedly supervised millions of dollars of work awarded by UMass to Compass Restoration from 2008-2015 without disclosing his connection and personally benefited financially from the relationship. Strycharz also allegedly accepted various undisclosed and illegal gifts from Compass Restoration and Rodrigues, including vacation trips to Mexico, motorboats and labor at a family property.
Michael McGoldrick, who in October 2014 replaced Strycharz in overseeing certain outside contractors, including the asbestos, deleading, mold and PCB contracts held by Compass Restoration, within months allegedly accepted a $3,000 check from Compass Restoration allegedly in support of his son’s auto racing activities.
While overseeing work done by Dimauro Carpet & Tile at UMass, McGoldrick between 2013 and 2016 allegedly accepted 10 checks from the East Longmeadow-based company totaling $14,880, in support of his son’s auto racing activities.
Rodrigues, 58, was indicted by a grand jury for one count of conspiracy to commit procurement fraud, one count of procurement fraud and two counts of giving illegal gratuities to a state employee.
Strycharz, 57, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit procurement fraud, one count of procurement fraud, four counts of use of official state position to secure unwarranted privileges, two counts of accepting illegal gratuities by a state employee and one count of larceny over $250.
McGoldrick, 50, was previously indicted on one count of use of official state position to secure unwarranted privileges and two counts of accepting illegal gratuities by a state employee.
Arraignment dates for Rodrigues and Strycharz have not been set; McGoldrick will be arraigned on Aug. 30.
