MBTA worker, contractor indicted for alleged kickback scheme

An MBTA worker who oversaw small construction jobs and the purchase of office supplies and a Plymouth contractor were indicted this week on charges they rigged bids for several years, the state Attorney General's office reports.

Timothy Dockery, 50, of Plymouth, was also charged with accepting $23,000 worth of "high-end tickets to sporting events and concerts" from another vendor and taking "approximately $8,000 in lunches and goods for Dockery’s personal business" from another vendor in exchange for steering T contracts their way, the AG's office reports.

Dockery was formally charged with with three counts of larceny over $250, three counts of accepting illegal gratuities, conspiracy to commit larceny over $250 and procurement fraud.

A man who owns three contracting companies in Plymouth, was charged with two counts of procurement fraud.

Dockery was immediately suspended by the T, although he was already on leave because he was serving as president of local 453 of the Office and Professional Employees International Union.

According to the AG's office:

In a procurement fraud scheme, Dockery allegedly created a fake quote to ensure that [the contractor] would be the lowest bidder for a construction supplies contract. Dockery then allegedly inflated [the contractor] ’s quote by $4,175 so that his winning bid was just under the fake quote. For other construction projects, [the contractor] allegedly created and submitted fake quotes that purported to be from two competitor companies. The fake quotes were higher than hiss winning quotes, and created the illusion of a competitive procurement process.

In addition, the AG's office reports:

In one scheme, Dockery allegedly worked with a vendor to steal about $38,000 from the MBTA by submitting fake invoices. Dockery allegedly instructed the vendor to create fake invoices for funds leftover on purchase orders, and facilitated the payment of the fake invoices. The vendor and Dockery then shared the money paid out by the MBTA. As part of the investigation, the AG’s Office entered into an agreement with the vendor to pay back his half of the stolen proceeds.

In addition to the fake invoice scheme, Dockery also allegedly received cash payments from the vendor in exchange for Dockery’s help with MBTA procurements and projects. The vendor paid Dockery roughly 10 percent of the vendor’s profit from at least 70 payments from the MBTA. The vendor collected more than $1.8 million from the MBTA since 2011, and authorities allege Dockery received at least $60,000 in kickbacks.

State investigators began looking into Dockery's work in 2014, after the T had already launched its own investigation, the AG's office says.

Innocent, etc.