Warren Man Sentenced For Giving Fake Quotes To Get Government Contracts

WARREN, NJ — A Warren man was sentenced Friday for submitting fake price quotes to secure three government contracts.

Robert Bruno, 71, of Warren, was sentenced to 12 months of probation and ordered to pay full restitution of $31,428 by Superior Court Judge David F. Bauman in Monmouth County. Bruno pleaded guilty on March 18 to third-degree theft by deception, said Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck.

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The company that employed Bruno — Sigma Engineering and Consulting (“Sigma”) — also pleaded guilty to third-degree theft by deception and is jointly and severally liable with Bruno for paying the full restitution amount. In addition, Bruno and Sigma are debarred from public contracts in New Jersey for a period of five years.

An investigation found that between 2016 and 2018, Bruno submitted price quotes to secure three separate purchase contracts for machine parts worth $31,428 from the Keansburg Division of Water and Sewers, said Bruck.

Under local government guidelines, the Division of Water and Sewers was required to get price quotes from a minimum of three vendors, because each purchase exceeded $3,000.

Bruno then fabricated two companies, K-A Mechanical Inc. and SMC2, submitting higher price quotes from those fake companies for each of the purchases in order to ensure that Sigma received the purchase contracts, said Bruck.

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