A Bethlehem man has pleaded guilty to his role in schemes to rig bids and engage in fraud on insulation installation contracts.  The Department of Justice says the conviction of Gary DeVoe is the first in the investigation.  Authorities say DeVoe participated in a long-running conspiracy among insulation contractors in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. 

He has agreed to pay restitution.  The antitrust charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $1 million.  The fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. 

U.S. Attorney for Connecticut John Durham says they cooked up collusive bids, shared bid numbers with their competitors and communicated over encrypted messaging apps, in an effort to line their own pockets and their companies’ bottom lines.  Durham says the real victims are the hospitals, universities and businesses that were duped into paying corruptly inflated bids on $45 million worth of insulation jobs throughout New England. 

DeVoe also agreed to resolve civil forfeiture cases connected to the criminal charges.  DeVoe agreed to settle the pending forfeiture action on his home for $131,000 and to forfeit all of his seized bank accounts.