Friday, August 8, 2008

Advanced AV Caught in Bribery Sting

InfoComm President Caught in the Act and Resigns

Jay Armand, president/COO of systems integration firm (West Chester PA), has been accused of bribery in connection with an integration project, a charge to which he pleaded guilty in late June.

By pleading guilty, Armand admitted that he consented to pay a $10,000 bribe to an employee of the contractor, , erecting new , for assistance in securing the audiovisual contract for the job. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Documents filed in the US District Court of New Jersey indicate that, via email communication, Armand agreed to meet an individual only identified as "construction manager" in September 2005 to discuss the project.

On September 22, in Mercer County NJ, Armand and the construction manager met, at which time they agreed to the deal.According to a July 30 , Lisa A. Mathewson, Armand’s counsel, said no money was ever actually exchanged and Advanced AV did not do any work on the project. Furthermore, she stated the construction manager was cooperating with federal investigators during his interaction with Armand, initiated the bribe and wore a wire.

This case is one piece of a large investigation into the Princeton library’s construction. The Princetonian, the campus newspaper, that five contractors involved with the project have pleaded guilty to bribery in excess of $100,000. On July 29, Armand resigned his chairmanship of InfoComm.