Construction Exec Commits Suicide Two Days Before Sentencing for $19M Federal Highway Fraud

A construction executive committed suicide two days after being convicted of steering federal highway contracts to crooked minority contractors in a $19 million fraud scheme, authorities said Monday.

Zohrab Marashlian of Perini Corp. faced up to 12 years in prison and $34.5 million in fines and forfeitures after Wednesday’s fraud and money laundering conviction in Brooklyn Federal Court.

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Marashlian bribed three no-show minority firms to put Perini workers on their payroll and process bogus invoices on contracts that required a certain amount of work go to minority companies.

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Marashlian, chief of Perini’s civil division, pulled in $14 million in salary and bonuses between 1994 and 2007–the period in which he secured the fraudulent contracts.

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