Man sent to prison after taking bribes from contractor building Idaho FBI data center
A former federal official was sent to prison after he pleaded guilty to taking bribes while overseeing the construction of an FBI data center in Pocatello.
James Heslep, a former FBI management and program analyst from Gainesville, Virginia, was sentenced Tuesday to just over three years in prison and three years of supervised release afterward, according to a news release from the Idaho U.S. Attorney’s Office. Heslep also must forfeit $128,128 — the amount he received in bribes — and pay over $15,000 in restitution to the IRS.
Heslep was convicted on two charges: receiving a bribe by a public official, and making a false federal income tax return.
Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael Gonzalez called Heslep’s sentence significant, adding it sends an appropriate message to public officials responsible for handling government contracts.
“The people of Idaho must be confident that when that trust is breached, there will be severe consequences no matter who you are or where you work,” Gonzalez said in the news release.
Heslep oversaw the construction and contract services for the recently built FBI data center in Pocatello and other FBI buildings across the country. Construction of the data center began in 2017 and expanded the FBI’s existing operations in Pocatello. The center opened in 2019.
Federal prosecutors say that another Virginia man, 63-year-old Robert Bailey, offered Heslep bribes to benefit Bailey’s construction business, which worked on the Pocatello center. Bailey made 18 bank deposits to Heslep that totaled about $120,000 between 2016 and 2018. He pleaded guilty in October to a charge of bribing a public official.
Heslep used his position to benefit Bailey’s business in different ways. Prosecutors say Heslep solicited Bailey’s input and edits on a work statement for a construction contract totaling $12.2 million. The contract was later awarded to Bailey’s company. Heslep also asked for and received authorization to dole out $16,000 per month to Bailey’s employees for living expenses, while those employees lived at Bailey’s home instead of a hotel.
Heslep also persuaded his FBI supervisors to pay Bailey’s workers a Washington, D.C.-area rate, rather than an Idaho labor rate. D.C. labor rates are about 30% higher than Idaho’s, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors say Heslep not only received bribe money — which he used to pay off loans, a credit card, travel expenses and personal retail purchases — but he was given a 50th birthday party in Dallas that featured first-class airplane tickets, a hotel and tickets to a Dallas Cowboys game. Bailey gave Heslep a beach house rental in North Carolina, first-class Amtrak seats and tickets to a Washington Nationals baseball game, among other bribes.
“Heslep abused his position as a public official to obtain illegal payments, which he used for his own personal gain,” said Andy Tsui, special agent in charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation’s Denver Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to enforce the nation’s tax laws regardless of a person’s status or a person’s position as a public official.”
Heslep will be sent to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to begin his term. Bailey is set to be sentenced during a court hearing scheduled for May 5 in a Boise federal courtroom.
