City Transportation Official Charged With Taking Bribes

A supervisor in the Baltimore City Department of Transportation allegedly solicited bribes, federal prosecutors allege.

Daryl Christopher Wade, 50, of Rosedale faces charges related to an extortion scheme, Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen M. Schenning announced.

Wade had worked for the city since 1988 and is now a construction project supervisor within the department's street cut unit. The unit monitors and administers fins associated with street cuts and street cut permits. A street cut is when a contractor performs construction work in a public right-of-way. Permits are valid for 120 days and the department assesses a $50 fine for each day past the expiration date that the street cut goes un-repaired. Wade allegedly claimed he could void fines in return for payments.

Wade allegedly took multiple cash payments from a confidential source in exchange for claiming he could erase fines. A criminal complaint alleges that in March 2016, the owner of a Maryland construction and utility company tried to broker bribe payments to Wade from the vice president of a Virginia construction company. This person was also a confidential source in the investigation. That company needed street cuts in Baltimore. At the time, that company had $55 million in city contracts to restore and replace water and sewage lines. In November 2015 and February 2016, the company was awarded additional contracts to conduct sewer and water overhauls that necessitated street cuts.

In January 2016, the Maryland executive told the Virginia executive that his company would be getting $1.3 million in fines from the city, and then said he had a connection who could reduce those fines by 80 percent if the confidential source paid 20 percent to that connection. The confidential source rejected the offer.

A second source, who runs a plumbing and drain construction business, appealed a $17,000 street cut fine bill. Wade stopped the hearing and asked to speak with the source outside the hearing room. There, Wade told the source that if he helped Wade, Wade would help him.

Working with law enforcement in mid-September 2016, the source had a recorded phone call with Wade where Wade allegedly discussed the bribe offer. Wade later allegedly accepted $3,000 in cash, arriving to their meeting in a city-owned vehicle. Several days later, the source paid another $2,000, and a journal entry was posted to a city accounting system voiding the source's $17,000 fine.

Wade is set for an initial appearance at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.