RTD Supervisor Found Guilty Of Accepting Bribes
DENVER (CBS4)- An RTD supervisor was found guilty of accepting bribes in connection with his official duties.
Kenneth P. Hardin of Aurora was found guilty of bribery on Wednesday. Hardin, 62, is scheduled to be sentenced on May 16 and could face a penalty of not more than 10 years in federal prison and up to $250,000 fine per count for each of the three counts of conviction.
Hardin was indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 5, 2014. A jury found him guilty on three counts of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
According to court documents, Hardin was an employee of RTD, a senior manager of RTD's civil rights division. He was responsible for furthering civil rights goals through regulatory compliance, complaint investigation, community outreach and programmic strategy development.
Hardin was found guilty of corruptly soliciting and accepting money on or about May 15, 2014: $1,000, June 26, 2014: $1,000 and Sept. 15, 2014: $2,000, from a person intending to be influenced in connection with RTD business involving more than $5,000.
"Public officials get paid to make other people's lives better. When they take money to line their own pockets, we will hunt them down and punish them," said U.S. Attorney John Walsh in a statement. "The fact that the jury took just under two hours to return guilty verdicts in this case is a testament to the exceptional skill of the federal criminal investigators and the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who handled this case."
"The guilty verdict against Mr. Hardin shows public servants are not above the law and must be held accountable for failing to uphold their oath to maintain the public's trust," said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle in a statement.
"Offenders who abuse the public's trust are inherently more culpable. Mr. Hardin made a conscious decision to deceive and benefit personally at the expense of the citizens of Colorado," said Stephen Boyd, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Denver Field Office in a statement. "This verdict demonstrates our collective efforts to enforce the laws and ensure public trust."
