Brockton official arrested on bribery, extortion charges
Accused of trying to work around bidding process
The FBI arrested the superintendent of Brockton’s Building Department yesterday on charges he extorted $4,000 in kickbacks from a private contractor while orchestrating a scheme to circumvent regulated bidding processes.
Joseph L. Vasapollo Jr. was arrested at his Gifford Street home. He pleaded not guilty to extortion and bribery charges at his arraignment in federal court in Boston, and was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond.
His lawyer, Boston-based David Duncan, said he would not comment on the allegations.
Mayor James E. Harrington called the arrest “a sad day for Brockton.’’
“We’re working so hard to build this city, and something like this takes you back a step,’’ the mayor said.
The 66-year-old Vasapollo, who has been on unpaid medical leave for a heart attack since April, allegedly favored a Norwood-based contractor for special jobs in the city, according to a four-count indictment. The indictment did not identify the contractor, but the Globe has learned it is Suburban Middlesex Insulation Inc. Its president, Darrell W. MacLean, was not available for comment yesterday, an official at the company said.
According to the indictment, Suburban Middlesex had completed work requested by Vasapollo as early as 2003, and at one point the superintendent told the contractor - identified in the indictment only as the company’s president - that he wanted him to complete asbestos-removal work at the city’s War Memorial Building.
The city has been trying to renovate the building into a state-of-the-art performance center, in what has become a $1 million-plus project, and Vasapollo allegedly told MacLean to divide jobs into smaller projects so that they did not meet the $5,000 threshold for a bidding process. Through his role as superintendent, Vasapollo had the authority to approve projects under $5,000.
In 2007, Suburban Middlesex submitted four bids for asbestos removal, ranging in price from $4,185 to $4,950. Vasapollo then approved three of the projects and hand-delivered the city’s payments to the contractor at the Foxy Lady strip club in Brockton, according to the indictment.
In subsequent meetings at a local Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot and at a Pizzeria Uno that were recorded, Vasapollo then received cash payments from the contractor in the amounts of $1,000, $1,500, and $1,500.
Vasapollo allegedly told the contractor, “I’ve got to start thinking of some other things you need to do,’’ and they should “keep the flow, and make a couple of bucks on the side.’’
Milton Valencia can be reached at mvalencia@globe.com. 
