Politics & Government

VA Man Wants Public To Pay Attorney Fees in Navy Kickback Case

Ralph M. Mariano has hired former U.S. Attorney Robert Corrente as his defense lawyer.

Ralph M. Mariano of Virginia, the man accused of receiving a bribe in , now wants the public to pay his attorney fees, reports The Providence Journal. 

Mariano's newly-hired defense lawyer, U.S. Attorney Robert Corrente, has told the courts his client is "indigent," reports The Providence Journal. 

Mariano, 53, of Arlington, VA, a former engineer with the U.S. Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), is accused of accepting bribes as a public official from Portsmouth resident . 

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Mariano allegedly accepted kickbacks of naval funds from Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow (ASFT), a Middletown company. 

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

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