California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Friday announced the sentencing of Alex Morales III, a former California Department of Transportation employee who received payment in exchange for awarding contracts for projects that required some form of Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.
Morales pleaded guilty in December to two counts of felony bribery and was sentenced on Friday to four years in prison, which is suspended pending successful completion of a two-year probation term.
The terms of probation include one year of home detention with electronic monitoring and monthly $500 restitution payments to Caltrans.
Morales will also forfeit any CalPERS benefits he accrued between August 2010 and January 2015, when the crimes were committed.
“When you violate the public’s trust, you will be held accountable,” said Becerra. “As public servants, we are held to a higher standard. There is no place for this kind of criminal behavior in our state or state government. At the California Department of Justice, we’re always ready to go to bat for the people of California.”
Morales was employed as an Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, coordinator for Caltrans, a role which involves making Caltrans systems, including bridges and public walkways, ADA compliant.
The California Department of Justice arrested Morales in 2015 after a nine-month investigation. Following a preliminary hearing in 2017, a judge held Morales to answer on 39 counts of bribery.
At trial in 2019, the jury acquitted Morales on two counts and deadlocked on the remaining counts.
A new trial was scheduled for 2021, but Morales pleaded guilty in December 2020 to accepting multiple bribes over the course of approximately five years.
The bribes were made in cash payments ranging from $1,875 to $12,000 and included the acceptance of a new white Ford Expedition.
State attorney general announces sentencing of former Caltrans employee in bribery case
- Lake County News reports
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