Honolulu Contractor Pleads Guilty In State Bribery Scheme

Frank James Lyon admitted to giving money and other items to a state official to obtain business from 2006 to 2016.

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(AP) — A Honolulu man has admitted to paying about $240,000 in bribes to a Hawaii official to secure a $2.5 million state contract for his company.

Frank James Lyon pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to conspiring to bribe an agent of an organization that receives federal money.

The 53-year-old president of the civil engineering firm Lyon Associates Inc. told the court that he gave money and other items of value to obtain and retain business between 2006 and 2016.

Lyon gave cash to an employee of a state agency to secure the contract, according to court documents. Some of the money was intended to be shared with other agency officials after the contract was awarded in 2012.Authorities have not named the state employee or agency who was bribed.

Lyon also paid about $200,000 in bribes to officials in the Federated States of Micronesia to obtain $7.8 million in contracts, according to court documents. The bribes included cash, travel expenses, vehicles, university tuition and an apartment.

Lyon is scheduled to be sentenced in May. He also served on the Honolulu Zoning Board of Appeals.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth J. Mansfield allowed Lyon to remain out of custody on a $50,000 bond. The judge is allowing him to continue operating his company, but he is prohibited from seeking new government contracts.

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