Bribery Case Involving Chappaqua Schools Ends In Guilty Verdict

CHAPPAQUA, NY — A Yonkers man who paid a Chappaqua Central School District employee more than $5,000 in bribes and kickbacks has been found guilty.

Ricardo Jimenez was convicted of felony bribery and felony rewarding official misconduct. The 56-year-old was found guilty on Aug. 26, following a two-week jury trial, Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah announced on Monday.

“Bribery and kickback schemes like this one take money out of the hands of hardworking public employees and everyday workers and this kind of corruption won’t be tolerated here in Westchester,” the DA said in a statement lauding the verdict. “I thank the Chappaqua Central School District and Johnson Controls, Inc. for alerting the District Attorney’s Office of this fraudulent activity so justice can be served.”

Between November 2014 and August 2017, Jimenez paid a school district maintenance employee over $5,000 to make sure certain district-related maintenance projects were awarded to a company Jimenez owned, RJ Summit Services, Inc. The employee also ensured each invoice Jimenez sent to the school district was approved without question. When the district paid the company, Jimenez then kicked back portions of the payment to the district employee in cash and checks written from a different company.

The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office’s Investigations Division started an investigation in 2017 after being contacted by both the Chappaqua Central School District and Johnson Controls, Inc, a vendor to the school district. Jimenez was also an employee of Johnson Controls, Inc.

Jimenez faces a sentence ranging from a conditional discharge to a maximum of 5 to 15 years in state prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 29.