VP of Maryland construction firm acquitted in Metro bribery case

Hardutt Singh, vice president of Potomac Construction, was found not guilty on a charge that he tried to bribe a Metro official.

Passengers head toward the exits as a train leaves the Cleveland Park Metro station in November. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

The vice president of a Hyattsville-based construction firm was found not guilty Tuesday on a charge that he attempted to bribe a Metro official in December 2016, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Hardutt Singh, of Potomac Construction, was indicted in September on a charge he attempted to bribe the manager of Metro’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise department on Dec. 16, 2016, according to a copy of the indictment. Following a three-day trial in Prince George’s Circuit Court, a jury found Singh not guilty after less than two hours of deliberation, according to D.C.-based Price Benowitz LLP, the firm that represented Singh.

During the trial, “prosecutors played several secretly recorded conversations between Singh and FBI informant Erick Wilkes, arguing that Singh offered to pay Wilkes cash in exchange for Wilkes’ help addressing a long-standing subcontracting dispute with Metro,” the firm said in a news release. “But Singh’s attorneys, Glenn F. Ivey and Matthew Wilson, argued in court that Singh never paid Wilkes any money, and that Singh had worked successfully to resolve the dispute according to Metro’s rules.”

The case was brought following a two-year investigation that included the FBI’s Washington Field Office, inspector general’s offices for Metro and the Transportation and the Maryland state’s attorney for Prince George’s County.

The full extent of the probe into Singh, Potomac and other Metro contracting matters was unknown; Metro’s inspector general declined to comment on the case Wednesday, saying he could not speak about an ongoing investigation.

“Mr. Singh is certainly pleased that the jury acquitted him of these accusations,” Ivey said in a statement. “While he is now retired, he hopes that this result will allow Potomac Construction to get back to providing excellent service to Metro and its customers.”

Following the verdict, Metro said its business with Potomac is under review; Potomac’s federal contact eligibility has been restored, according to Ivey.

Metro suspended its subcontracting with Potomac following the indictment, although projects were not interrupted, according to the agency. Potomac had about $17.5 million worth of open work orders with Metro at the time of the moratorium.

As part of the investigation, Singh’s phones, financial records and business were all monitored, according to those familiar with the case, citing legal documents. That monitoring included FBI recording of phone calls between Singh and a Metro official from November 2016 through February 2017, they said. Two FBI informants were sent to meet with Singh as part of the evidence-gathering process.

The Maryland state’s attorney, which brought the charges, did not immediately return a request for comment.