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Ricardo Jimenez, age 57, was found guilty of bribery and rewarding official misconduct, both felonies, after allegedly paying a Chappaqua Central School District maintenance employee over $5,000 to ensure district-related maintenance projects were awarded to a company he owned.
Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah said that Jimenez and his company, RJ Summit Services, Inc. had invoices for work approved by the school employee that were sent directly to the district on his behalf.
In exchange, Jimenez, a Yonkers resident, kicked back portions of the payment to the district employee in cash and checks made out from another company, the DA said.
Rocah said that the District Attorney’s Office launched its investigation in 2017 after being contacted by both the Chappaqua Central School District and Johnson Controls, Inc. Jimenez was also an employee of Johnson Controls, Inc., a vendor to the school district.
“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,” Rocah said.
“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.”
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