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Wednesday, December 3, 2014

GUILTY! Federal Jury Finds Roy C. Bradley, Sr. Guilty Of Four Felonies; Co-Defendant Gerald A. Essex Acquitted. Illegal Asbestos Removal Conviction At Steven Ingersoll's Bay City Academy Could Send Bradley To Federal Prison For Up To 5 Years.

The federal trial of contractor Roy C. Bradley, Sr. ended yesterday with the contractor being convicted of four counts related to illegal asbestos removal at the Bay City Academy. Gerald A. Essex, Bradley's co-defendant and crew foreman, was acquitted on the same four charges.

Bradley's general contracting business, Lasting Impressions, was hired by Steven J. Ingersoll to renovate a former church at 400 N. Madison Avenue in Bay City and convert it into a school building for Ingersoll's owned-and-operated Bay City Academy. 

The jury began deliberations on Monday, December 1, with the verdict announced late yesterday afternoon.

The jury found that Bradley "failed to remove asbestos before beginning to demolish and renovate the building, failed to adequately wet and keep wet asbestos until proper disposal, failed to ensure that a person trained in the proper procedures for handling asbestos was on-site when asbestos was disturbed, and failed to ensure that asbestos-containing waste was disposed of properly," according to U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade.

A federal grand jury indicted Bradley and Essex in August 2013 following an investigation conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Internal Revenue Service. During the grand jury's sessions, Bradley employee Rodolfo Rodriguez testified and deliberately gave false testimony regarding how much asbestos he removed and who directed him at the task, court records show.

Rodriguez in February 2014 pleaded guilty to one count of perjury before a grand jury. "At Bradley's direction, and under Essex's supervision, Rodriguez removed at least 200 feet of asbestos insulation from pipes in the church so the pipes themselves could be removed," his plea agreement states.

Rodriguez was subsequently sentenced to 21 months in prison.



U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington is scheduled to sentence Bradley on Thursday, March 12, 2015.
 







NEXT ON THE DOCKET FOR BRADLEY: FEDERAL FRAUD TRIAL

Bradley, Steven Ingersoll, their wives Tammy and Deborah and Ingersoll's brother Gayle are facing an upcoming federal criminal trial. 

In January 2011, Ingersoll obtained a $1.8 million construction line of credit loan from Chemical Bank in Bay City for renovation at the Bay City Academy. Over the next few months, the April 26 superseding indictment alleges the Ingersolls and Bradleys moved large sums of money between various business and personal accounts, and charged all five defendants with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and charged Steven Ingersoll, Gayle Ingersoll, and Roy Bradley, Sr., with conspiracy to commit tax fraud.

After diverting approximately $932,000 from the Chemical Bank loan, Steven Ingersoll then transferred $704,000 to Roy Bradley and Tammy Bradley’s construction company’s credit union account.

Tammy Bradley then transferred $704,000 to Gayle Ingersoll’s business account.

Gayle Ingersoll then transferred the $704,000 to Steven Ingersoll and Deborah Ingersoll’s joint, personal bank account at Fifth-Third Bank.

Once the $704,000 was in Steven and Deborah Ingersoll’s personal account, Steven Ingersoll was able to use that money to partially repay a multi-million dollar debt to the Grand Traverse Academy.


The April 26 superseding indictment charged the defendants as follows:

• Steven Ingersoll — three counts of fraud by wire, radio or television; two counts of attempting to evade or defeat tax; single counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States; and attempt and conspiracy to commit fraud.

• Deborah Ingersoll — one count of attempt and conspiracy to commit fraud.

• Gayle Ingersoll — single counts of fraud by wire, radio or television; conspiracy to defraud the United States; and attempt and conspiracy to commit fraud.

• Roy Bradley — single counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States and attempt and conspiracy to commit fraud.

• Tammy Bradley — single counts of fraud by wire, radio or television and attempt and conspiracy to commit fraud.

The most serious offense — fraud by wire, television or radio — is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Although the Traverse City Record-Eagle recently reported the federal fraud trial had been rescheduled from December 2 to February 10, 2015, official court records indicate a new trial date for the Ingersolls and Bradleys is still pending.

1 comment:

  1. I hope Bradley's conviction is a sign of what will happen at the February trial. February is better December for court watching. It will be a great way to cope with the winter blahs!

    ReplyDelete