Philly Contractor Convicted Of Bribing OSHA Official

Philadelphia PA

14 December, 2021

9:36 AM

Description

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia contractor was convicted at federal trial of bribing an official from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Tony Ren, 58, of Philadelphia, was convicted of bribing an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Compliance Safety and Health Officer so the officer would not report safety violations at a Philadelphia construction site run by Ren, and to eliminate previous safety violations and corresponding fines. In September 2021, Ren was charged by indictment with two counts of bribery. According to the indictment, in October 2017, the OSHA official conducted an inspection of a worksite on Arch Street in response to an imminent hazard report. During the inspection, the official observed numerous violations of OSHA standards including debris in passageways, electrical issues, holes in the floor, and gas tanks with broken pressure gauges. The indictment alleges that on two separate dates in November 2017, Ren offered $1,500 cash bribes to the OSHA official in exchange for the official falsifying the inspection results and agreeing not to report the violations so that the defendant could avoid the substantial penalties that would follow. "OSHA inspections and standards exist for a reason: to prevent injuries and protect workers," United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said. "As the evidence presented at trial showed, the defendant attempted to subvert this system of protections by bribing an official to look the other way on multiple workplace safety violations. This case should serve as a warning to all employers that our Office will investigate and prosecute fully this type of corruption."