Rep. Garcia, Wife Indicted Over Wedtech

Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia and his wife were indicted Monday on bribery, extortion and conspiracy charges in the Wedtech corruption scandal, accused among other things of accepting a diamond-and-emerald necklace from the company’s founder.

Garcia, 55, and his wife, Jane Lee Garcia, 48, were accused of extorting $76,000 in payments from Wedtech Corp. and a $20,000 interest-free loan from Mario Moreno, one-time Wedtech vice chairman.

In addition, the Garcias were accused of taking $77,500 and the necklace from Wedtech founder John Mariotta and his wife, Jennie, in 1985.

None of the payments, the loan or the jewelry were reported on Garcia’s congressional financial disclosure forms in 1984 and 1985, the seven-count indictment said.

Lawyer Also Accused

Attorney Ralph Vallone Jr., 41, of Santurce, Puerto Rico, also was accused Monday of funneling $86,100 in Wedtech payments through his law office to Garcia as “consulting fees,” passing on $76,000 and keeping $10,100 for himself.

Wedtech, now out of business, was a tiny South Bronx machine shop that grew into a multimillion-dollar-a-year defense contractor through a Small Business Administration program that allowed minority-owned firms to obtain government contracts without competitive bidding.

Garcia was the second congressman to be indicted in the scandal. On Friday, former Rep. Mario Biaggi, another Bronx Democrat, was sentenced to eight years in prison for his part in the scandal. At least 19 people have been convicted in the case.