16 M E T R O S P I R I T A U G
Defendants Plead Guilty in Two State Construction Fraud Case
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hat could have been a lengthy, documentintensive trial came to an abrupt end after three men indicted on federal charges in a scheme to defraud the Monsanto/Searle pharmaceutical company entered guilty pleas. Clifford Poston, 48; Darwin Schneider, 44; and Joseph Ribordy, 58; appeared in federal court on July 25 and pleaded guilty to reduced charges outlined in the original 357-count indictment against them and Thomson-based Two State Construction Company. Poston and Schneider pleaded guilty to 42 and 40 counts, respectively, ranging from conspiracy and income tax evasion to mail and wire fraud. The men confessed to bilking the drug company for millions of dollars through
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inflated site work invoices submitted by Poston, then-president of Two State, which were approved by Schneider, who served as construction engineer with Monsanto/Searle. U.S. District Chief Judge Dudley Bowen told the men that each of the counts could carry a maximum of five years in prison, $250,000 in fines and three years of probation. However, the government made no specific sentencing recommendations and the defendants will likely receive downgraded sentences for their acceptance of responsibility under federal sentencing guidelines. The men are also each responsible for restitution to Monsanto/Searle in the amount of $1,558,387. Ribordy took the lightest rap for the illegal operation, pleading guilty to only
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one of the mail fraud counts in the indictment, and admitting that he accepted two checks totaling $10,000 from Poston as kickbacks. Ribordy consented in open court to the prosecution’s claim that he ensured Two State would get construction contracts without having to bid for them through his role as an administrative manager in charge of accounting with Monsanto/Searle. Ribordy’s guilty plea to mail fraud could net him the same maximum penalties as each of his co-defendant’s charges, Bowen told him. Poston also accepted full responsibility for fraudulent activities conducted through Two State, leaving the company free from prosecutorial action. A court official said it could be anywhere from 30 to 45 days until a
sentencing hearing is set for the defendants. Currently, they are all free on bond. The summarizing in court of the plea agreement by Bowen proceeded smoothly until the issue arose of the assessed amount of back taxes, penalties and interest Poston and Schneider now owe to the IRS. Atlanta attorney Michael Abbott, cocounsel for Poston, questioned if the totals owed to the IRS in the plea agreement documents were arrived at by someone working directly on the criminal investigation. John Bell, court-appointed attorney for Schneider, who had claimed indigent status for the pending trial that would have started in August, said he had only been provided the IRS tally prior to walking into court.
Joseph Ribordy (upper left), Clifford Poston (bottom left), Darwin Schneider (bottom right)
“This has been approved by the U.S. Attorney’s office. Either we have an agreement or we don’t.” — Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Goolsby, responding to the questioning by the defense of the accuracy of taxes, penalties and interest owed by Poston and Schneider to the IRS.