SAN DIEGO–A building manager for the General Services Administration (GSA) was sentenced to 16 months in custody Monday for accepting bribes and stealing property owned by the United States.
At a sentencing hearing today, Judge Gonzalo Curiel noted that Timothy Cashman was a religious man who performed many good deeds and selfless acts throughout his life. Nevertheless, he told the packed courtroom of friends, family, and supporters who requested leniency for Cashman that it was vital the general public understood that “quid pro quo is not the status quo; quid pro quo is not acceptable.”
During the sentencing, the government demonstrated how Cashman used his position with GSA (overseeing operations and maintenance at the Otay Mesa, San Ysidro, and Tecate Ports of Entry) for his personal enrichment; rather than to fulfill GSA’s core mission of delivering “the best value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to government and the American people.”
Over a number of years, Cashman provided favorable treatment relating to the awarding of GSA contracts. For example, he demanded $10,000 in cash and thousands of dollars’ worth of construction and renovation services on Cashman’s personal residence from government contractor Hugo Alonso, Inc. These services included having the company paint Cashman’s Lakeside home and replace his roof and windows free of charge.
The former GSA building manager also demanded that the company pay another government contractor $120,000 in exchange for the company being awarded a GSA construction contract at the Otay Mesa Point of Entry. Subsequently, Cashman accepted six checks from the company totaling $42,000, which he deposited into his personal account. All of the income he received from Alonso, Inc. was concealed from the IRS when submitting his federal income tax returns.
In addition to accepting bribes from Alonso, Inc., Cashman improperly obtained thousands of dollars in valuable United States Government building materials for his own benefit by causing GSA contractors and others to remove and transport such materials away from GSA facilities where he could sell or use them without the knowledge of GSA. Among other things, Cashman instructed government contractors: (1) in March 2011, to load approximately 25 stainless steel panels located at the San Ysidro Point of Entry into his personal Ford truck; (2) in January 2012, to load 35 heavy brass letters (spelling out “United States Border Inspection Station” and weighing approximately 2,000 pounds) into his personal truck; (3) in December 2012, to collect approximately 3,000 feet of underground copper cable belonging to the United States and to deliver it to, among other places, his personal residence; and (4) in November 2013, to set aside for his personal sale a large quantity of underground copper cable and approximately five aluminum panels located at the Otay Mesa Point of Entry.
United States Attorney Laura Duffy remarked that the Cashman case demonstrates that combatting public corruption in all its forms will remain one of her office’s highest priorities.
In addition to his custodial sentence, Cashman was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $50,057.32 in restitution. Alonso, Inc. and its principal, Hugo Alonso, previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced. In total, 11 individuals have been apprehended and pleaded guilty in related corruption investigations.
