Portsmouth Man Lied to FBI During Navy Kickback Probe

A Portsmouth man pleaded guilty Thursday to lying to the FBI during the investigation into an alleged . 

, 57, of Portsmouth, a sub-contractor, appeared in U.S. District Court Thursday before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mary M. Lisi. 

Spencer admitted he lied to investigators and prosecutors on three occasions between September 2011 and January 2012 about a relationship he had with another person, and that he provided gifts and monies to that person from proceeds he realized from the kickback scheme.

The sub-contractor from Portsmouth previously pleaded guilty in June 2011 to being the conduit for alleged kickbacks of naval funds from Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow (ASFT), a Middletown company, to Ralph Mariano, an engineer with the U.S. Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA).

Spencer’s guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha and Richard Deslauriers, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Office.

Spencer now faces up to 5 years in federal prison; up to 3 years of supervised release; and a fine of up to $250,000.

He will be sentenced on both pleas on Dec. 6. 

Anjan Dutta-Gupta, 59, of Roswell, GA, founder and president of ASFT, also pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in April 2011 to paying bribes to Ralph Mariano and others, to ensure payment and additional funding to existing Naval contracts and work orders for work purportedly to be performed at ASFT. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 21.

Ralph Mariano, 53, of Arlington, VA, has been charged by way of a criminal complaint with receiving a bribe as a public official.

Patrick Nagle, 51, of Marietta, GA, a former senior vice president and director of contracts for ASFT, pleaded guilty in August 2011 to an information charging him with conspiracy to commit bribery. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew J. Reich, Lee H. Vilker and Terrence P. Donnelly are the prosecutors for the case. 

Investigating the kickback scheme were agents from the FBI; Defense Criminal Services, Naval Criminal Investigative Service; and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations.