PHILADELPHIA — An Illinois employee of an Indiana masonry firm has been sentenced to 57 months in prison for his role in a federal bribery case over Amtrak’s renovation of its 30th Street Station in Philadelphia.
Donald Seefeldt, 65, of Wilmette, Ill., was also sentenced to a year of probation, 59 hours of community service, and a $50,000 fine after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the eastern district of Pennsylvania announced.
Seefeldt, senior executive vice president of the contractor, was responsible to provide oversight of the contractor’s performance on the project. He and three other members of the firm gave an Amtrak employee — previously identified as Ajith Bhaskaran, who died in October 2020 — gifts valued at more than $323,000, including vacations, a purebred dog, and two watches valued at more than $16,500. In return, Bhaskaran provided inside information that helped the company land contracts, and approved change orders that led to overbilling of Amtrak by more than $2 million.
“Seefeldt conspired to bribe an Amtrak employee, to benefit himself and his colleagues,” U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said in a press release. “In padding their pockets at the government’s expense, they were, in fact, victimizing U.S. taxpayers. Every dollar lost to federal program fraud means one less for a vital program or public priority.”
The owner of the masonry firm, Mark Snedden, has also pleaded guilty to charges and is awaiting sentencing [see “Contractor pleads guilty …,” News Wire, May 1, 2025].
