CONTRACTOR ARRESTED FOR DEFRAUDING THE STATE

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today the arrest on felony perjury and procurement fraud charges* of Bill Hatzi, 46, a Baltimore City contractor who frequently bids on State construction and repair contracts.

Hatzi, a resident of Forest Hill, Harford County, was charged with lying on the Bid Affidavits relating to five separate State maintenance and construction contracts he and his company were awarded. Specifically, he swore under penalties of perjury that he had no previous convictions for theft, when in fact he had been convicted of that crime in 1991 in Baltimore City Circuit Court under the name of Vasilios Hatzianoglou.

The jobs in which the false affidavits were submitted occurred in 1995 and 1996, at the William Donald Schaefer Tower, Baltimore City, Springfield State Hospital, Gunpowder Falls State Park, the Police and Correctional Training Commission, Woodstock, and Cedarville State Forest, Prince George’s County.

In April of this year, Hatzi, who has used a number of variations of his name, including Vasilios Hatzianoglou - was debarred by the State Board of Public Works for repeatedly defaulting on his contracts with the State. His debarred companies include Power Dynamics, Pallini Company and Vastec Company, all of which list an address of Tolna Street in Baltimore.

The maximum sentence for procurement fraud is five years incarceration and a $20,000 fine, while the maximum sentence for perjury is 10 years. The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

*The conviction was reversed on appeal by judgment dated April 27, 2005.

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