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'Down In Flames': Business Owner On Long Island Bribed Official For $1M In Federal Contracts

The owner of a Long Island company could spend over a decade behind bars after admitting that he bribed a federal official in order to secure nearly $1 million in federal contracts.

Michael Montenes, owner of Hauppauge-based M.S. Hi-Tech, Incorporated, pleaded guilty to bribery charges in federal court in Central Islip on Wednesday, May 3.

Michael Montenes, owner of Hauppauge-based M.S. Hi-Tech, Incorporated, pleaded guilty to bribery charges in federal court in Central Islip on Wednesday, May 3.

Photo Credit: Google Maps street view/Canva user brazzo

Michael Montenes, age 61, of St. James, pleaded guilty to bribery charges in federal court in Central Islip on Wednesday, May 3.

Montenes is the owner of Hauppauge-based M.S. Hi-Tech, Incorporated, a distributor of electronic components.

According to the US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District, between December 2017 and December 2020 Montenes paid a Procurement Officer employed at the Department of Energy (DOE) in Virginia approximately $18,800.

The money served as a bribe to persuade the officer, now named as a co-conspirator in the case - to enter into contracts with Montenes’ business worth $969,000 for electrical components that were supplied to a DOE laboratory.

Montenes reportedly mailed the payments, which ranged from $500 to $7,200, from Long Island to the officer in Virginia.

According to investigators, some of the electronic components sold to DOE failed and caused a fire in July 2021, resulting in approximately $1.8 million in needed repairs and other costs.

“Like the faulty components that he bribed a government official to purchase and caused damage to a Department of Energy laboratory, Montenes’s scheme has gone down in flames and he must now face the consequences for his crime,” US Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.

“This Office will continue to root out corruption that undermines the integrity of competitive bidding in the procurement process.”

In court Wednesday, Montenes pleaded guilty to bribing a federal official. He now faces up to 15 years in prison when he’s sentenced at a later date.

As part of his guilty plea, he also agreed to forfeit approximately $969,000 and to pay DOE more than $1.8 million in restitution.

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