A former civilian employee at Picatinny Arsenal and a former official of a defense contractor with a branch office in Lake Hopatcong have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Robert Dombroski, 63, of Branchville, is charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of making false statements. Indra Nayee, 51, of Metuchen, is also charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to information provided by U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito, Dombroski worked at Picatinny Arsenal for more than 30 years, retiring as a federal employee in 2015. He was then hired as a civilian, serving as a senior products manager for advanced weapons. Prior to retiring, Dombroski held the position of senior associate for advanced weapons and worked on and supervised contract projects with a defense contractor, identified in court papers as “Company A,” which is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, and has a branch office in Lake Hopatcong. In that capacity, Dombroski had influence over the awarding of government contracts to this company and influenced how the money was allocated.
Nayee was the former Picatinny Arsenal division director of Company A, and had direct oversight and control over how his company executed the government contracts it had with Picatinny Arsenal, according to the statement. He supervised and directly managed all branch employees. Nayee was the primary point of contact at Company A for Picatinny Arsenal employees, including Dombrowski.
From 2010-18, Dombroski and Nayee allegedly conspired with other federal employees at Picatinny Arsenal and employees of Company A to seek and accept gifts and other items of value, such as Apple products, luxury handbags, Beats headphones, and tickets to a luxury sky box at professional sporting events, valued at $150,000 to $250,000, in exchange for government contracts and other favorable assistance for Company A at Picatinny Arsenal, according to the statement.
The count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The false statement charges each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
