Three men, including a Groveland man involved in a Haverhill office furnishings company, were sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Boston for conspiracy to defraud the United States and mail fraud in connection with a scheme to obtain government contracts.
Frank Apicella, 63, of Groveland; Michael Sforza, 59, of Alpharetta, Ga.; and James Apicella, 37, of Kingston, N.H., were sentenced by U.S. District Court Senior Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to two years of probation, two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $300,000 each. In addition, Frank Apicella and Sforza were also ordered to each pay a $300,000 fine.
They pleaded guilty in February this year. James Apicella lists Tactical Office Solutions on his website as operating from 150 Summer St., and 80 Wingate St., Haverhill.
According to U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling’s office, James Apicella operated the office furnishings outlet to bid for and obtain government contract work that was set aside for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses and Historically Underutilized Business Zone companies. Although the work was bid by and awarded to Tactical Office Solutions, jobs were actually mostly performed by FENS, a company owned and operated by Frank Apicella and Sforza that was not eligible for these contracts.