Patrick Sisk Sentenced for Bribery and Theft in Connection with Construction Work at UMBC

BALTIMORE, MD (June 24, 2008) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Patrick R. Sisk, 51, of Waterbird Court in Cockeysville, was sentenced in Baltimore County Circuit Court to five years in jail, all suspended, and one year unsupervised probation on his conviction for felony theft, conspiracy to commit theft, and bribery. The Honorable John Grason Turnbull, II, ordered Sisk, the former owner of Sisk Contracting Company, to pay a $5,000 fine and prohibited him from performing work as a contractor or subcontractor on any projects for the State of Maryland. The recommended suspended sentence results from Sisk’s admission of wrongdoing and assistance to State investigators early in the State’s investigation.

Sisk is the first of several defendants to be sentenced for their role in corruption at UMBC, centered on former staff in UMBC’s Construction Services Department. Sisk, a concrete contractor, admitted that he participated in a four year scheme with former UMBC Construction Project Manager Andrew Reider to generate a steady stream of illegal cash by submitting false and inflated invoices to the University. Sisk allowed Reider to create and submit the fraudulent invoices on behalf of Sisk Contracting to the general contractor, knowing that Reider would ultimately approve the charges.

Sisk admitted that he participated in the scheme to insure that he would continue to get work at UMBC. During the four years of the scheme, Sisk was a regular subcontractor on UMBC construction projects. Sisk has agreed to cooperate in the State’s continuing investigation into corruption in the procurement process at UMBC.

This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Criminal Division, with the assistance of the University System of Maryland Internal Audit Office, and the Maryland State Police. In making today’s announcement, Attorney General Gansler thanked Assistant Attorney General Kate O’Donnell and former Assistant Attorney General Paul Budlow for their work on the case.