FMCSA former safety auditor indicted on bribery, extortion charges
A former U.S. DOT employee has been indicted on charges of bribery and extortion.
Patrick Gorena, 54, of Lyford, Texas, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Houston.
Gorena was a border investigator for U.S. DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. He conducted compliance audits of trucking companies for safety violations.
According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice, he is alleged to have demanded a $3,500 cash payment from a company he was auditing. In exchange for the cash, he offered to minimize purported safety violations, which could have caused the company to be fined or be denied authorization to operate.
According to the indictment, Gorena accepted a $2,000 bribe from an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a representative of the trucking company. The trucking company was not identified.
Gorena faces charges of one count of bribery and one count of extortion under color of official right. If convicted, he could serve up to 20 years in prison on the extortion count and 15 years in prison on the bribery count. If convicted on both counts, he faces a maximum penalty of 35 years in prison.
The McAllen FBI Public Corruption Squad and U.S. DOT Office of Inspector General are investigating the case.
Trial attorney Lauren Castaldi of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Hanes for the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.
The announcement of the bribery and extortion charges against Gorena was made by Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jennifer Lowery for the Southern District of Texas, Special Agent in Charge Oliver E. Rich Jr. of the FBI San Antonio Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Todd A. Damiani of the DOT Office of Inspector General’s Southern Region. LL
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