Ex-Intelsat Chief Pleads Guilty in Kickback Scheme
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WASHINGTON — The former chief executive officer of Intelsat and two others pleaded guilty today to conspiring in a scheme to obtain $4.8 million in illegal kickbacks.
Richard Colino, 51, the former director general of the company, International Telecommunications Satellite Organization, pleaded guilty to one felony count of interstate transportation of money taken by fraud.
Prosecutors said Colino’s plea involved a scheme in which he and others fraudulently obtained about $4.8 million in four transactions from Intelsat from April, 1984, to December, 1986. The company, a global communications satellite consortium, carries virtually all of the world’s international telephone and video traffic.
The transactions in this case involved the construction and financing of the new Intelsat buildings in Washington.
Colino, appearing before U.S. District Judge Gerhard Gesell, admitted his guilt in the scheme and his receiving and sharing in about $2.7 million. He told the judge he personally profited by “over $1 million.”
His sentencing was set for Sept. 11, at which time he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Two others also pleaded guilty in the lucrative scheme. They were Manuel Sera, 66, and Charles Gerrell, 44, a mortgage broker from Little Rock, Ark.
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