Joseph Ponzo, former Stoneham policeman, sentenced to prison for bribes

The judge of the United States District Court, Nathaniel M. Gorton, also ordered Ponzo to pay $ 115,528 in restitution, and a fine of $ 100,000, according to a statement from the US prosecutor’s office. UU. Leah B. Foley.

“Joseph Ponzo was a jury officer, who promised an oath to defend the law, not violate it. However, he chose greed on integrity, ”said Foley in the statement. “The greed of Joseph Ponzo came to the expense of consumers who stayed paying the invoice. A prison sentence is the price that will now pay for bribes and bribes. “

Ponzo’s brother and coding, Christopher Ponzo, received the same prison and probation sentence in February. He was ordered to pay a fine of $ 300,000, according to prosecutors.

The brothers possessed a company Called Air Stright who received $ 36 million in contracts to isolate homes and businesses from Massave, a collaboration of Massachusetts public service companies and energy efficiency services providers, the authorities said.

Joseph Ponzo named his spouse in the company’s incorporation documents and contract licenses to hide his participation, prosecutors said.

At the same time, he was a full -time police officer, winning an average of $ 126,000 annually of the city between 2015 and 2019, according to federal authorities.

In a statement on Friday, the Stoneham police chief James O’Connor acknowledged the Ponzo prison sentence for “illegal activities related to external commercial companies, which were not related to the city’s funds or their employment with the department.”

“As professionals of the law, we are arrested with the highest standards of conduct and integrity,” said O’Connor’s statement. “Our duty is to maintain the law, serve the public with honor and act ethically both inside and outside the uniform. The actions of Mr. Ponzo are a clear violation of these principles and do not reflect the values ​​of the Stoneham Police Department. “

Ponzo was put on administrative license after his arrest at the end of April 2022. The following week, he was suspended without paying for the resolution of charges for serious crimes. A day later, on May 3, 2022, Ponzo resigned, said O’Connor.

The special FBI agent in charge of the Boston division said the Ponzo actions tarnished the badge.

“When an officer shrugs with his sworn oath and breaks the law to fill in his salary as Joseph Ponzo did, he betrays the people of his community, and all of us who use a badge,” said Jodi Cohen in the statement.

“Every year, Massachusetts owners spend millions of dollars to finance energy conservation projects for consumers,” Cohen continued. “Joseph Ponzo and his brother deceived them by disbursing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a constant flow of bribes and bribes to a source that directed the contracts, ignoring all ethical limits.”

State law requires public service companies to collect an energy efficiency surcharge in all Massachusetts energy consumers, which amount to hundreds of millions of dollars per year, are disbursed by public service companies to finance energy efficiency programs and initiatives, prosecutors said.

According to the Massave program, public service companies select the main suppliers to approve and select contractors to do the job.

The supposedly brothers brothers a business identified in the judicial documents only as “associated with”, to use their position within the company that manages the Massave program to direct the contracts to their companies, as shown in the judicial records.

You can contact Tonya Alanez in [email protected]. Follow her @Talanez.