Contractor paid cash bribes, renovated Caltrans manager’s home in exchange for projects

A former construction contractor faces years in prison and restitution payments of at least $700,000 for bribing a Caltrans manager and rigging bids for taxpayer-funded projects, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.

William D. Opp pleaded guilty to helping carry out a scheme from 2015 through 2018 in which he coordinated bids and paid bribes to former Caltrans construction manager Choon Foo “Keith” Yong, who pleaded guilty in April, according to Opp’s plea agreement.

Opp’s agreement, signed in June, was filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento.

Brian Gurwitz, an attorney representing Opp in the case, said in an email that his client ended his participation in the conspiracy years before the government started its investigation.

“He deeply regrets his role in the corruption of the CalTrans bidding process,” Gurwitz said in the email.

The plea agreement details how the scheme worked and the possible penalties Opp faces.

Opp used two companies, which aren’t named in court documents, to manipulate the public bidding process for contracts to repair and improve Caltrans maintenance facilities and bridge toll buildings in the Bay Area.

Opp, Yong and other unnamed conspirators would decide who was going to get each project and then would write up “sham” bids to make sure the pre-selected bidder won.

To avoid detection, Yong used his personal email address, and Opp named his wife president of the second company he used in the bid-rigging.

Opp and his companies made cash payments to Yong ranging from about $40,000 to $96,000 and also bribed him with wine, furniture and $130,000 worth of renovation work on Yong’s home by Opp’s primary company.

The scheme cost Caltrans $700,000. Opp will owe restitution of at least that much, and up to $15 million.

Opp has agreed to cooperate with a continuing investigation, and prosecutors agreed to recommend a prison sentence at the lower end of sentencing guidelines, likely of between 4.7 and 5.9 years, according to the agreement.

“Today’s guilty plea involves crimes affecting industries that receive significant federal funding for infrastructure and transportation,”Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter said in a statement. “The Antitrust Division and its Procurement Collusion Strike Force are redoubling efforts to enforce the law against bid-rigging and fraud that steals taxpayer dollars.”

This story was originally published October 4, 2022 at 6:00 AM.