Wedtech Official Tells of Secret Payments : Says D’Amato, Others Got Contributions ‘in Exchange for Favors’
A former Wedtech Corp. executive testified Thursday that he gave at least $30,000 hidden under different names to Sen. Alfonse M. D’Amato (R-N.Y.) to evade election law contribution limits.
Former Wedtech vice chairman Mario Moreno, testifying at the corruption trial of Rep. Mario Biaggi (D-N.Y.) and six others, also said that Wedtech contributed to numerous other campaign and party organizations “in exchange for favors we expected to get.”
D’Amato helped the now-bankrupt defense contractor win a large government contract without competitive bidding, Moreno said.
A spokesman for D’Amato called Moreno’s testimony “ridiculous.”
Millions of Dollars
Biaggi, former Bronx Borough President Stanley Simon and five others are accused of turning Wedtech into a racketeering enterprise that paid out millions of dollars as bribes for government contracts and other favors.
Moreno is among four former Wedtech executives cooperating with the government in return for leniency on state and federal charges to which they pleaded guilty.
Prosecutors have said D’Amato will testify for the government. The government contends that Biaggi enlisted him and other politicians such as the late Rep. Joseph Addabbo (D-N.Y.) to help secure no-bid government contracts for Wedtech.
Moreno, who was on the witness stand for the eighth day Thursday, testified that he and other Wedtech officials had contributed to many political officials--including D’Amato--who have not been charged with wrongdoing.
“You gave contributions to Sen. D’Amato that you hid under different names so you could violate laws . . . close to $30,000?” defense attorney Maurice Nessen asked.
“Yes, it might have been more than that,” Moreno replied.
“And all the while, the senator from New York was helping you get contracts?” Nessen asked.
“Yes,” said Moreno, who later said that D’Amato “was one of the most important people” in helping Wedtech secure a multimillion-dollar Navy contract without competitive bidding.
Federal election law limits individual campaign contributions to $1,000 per election and bars corporate campaign contributions.
Ed Martin, a D’Amato spokesman in Washington, called the testimony “ridiculous,” adding: “We have no knowledge of any secret contributions.”
He said prosecutors had told D’Amato staffers “there’s a lot of false name-dropping going on” at the trial. “This is an example,” Martin said.
Moreno admitted that he and other Wedtech officials contributed to the campaigns of New York City Mayor Edward I. Koch, New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, city Comptroller Harrison J. Goldin and state Sen. John Marchi, none of whom has been charged with wrongdoing.
