Mario Perciavalle, a former Mount Sinai Medical Center and School of Medicine purchasing official, pleaded guilty to taking part in bid rigging and fraud related to maintenance and insulation contracts at Mount Sinai in New York, according to a Department of Justice press release. The former associate director of plant services pleaded guilty last Thursday to all three counts in an indictment. Perciavalle was responsible for obtaining bids from vendors and awarding contracts on a competitive basis. Between June 2004 and September 2005, Perciavalle plotted with co-conspirators to rig bids on maintenance and insulation services contracts at Mount Sinai by submitting intentionally high, non-competitive bids, to make it seem like there had been competition when there was none. Perciavalle asked for and received kickbacks of more than $20,000 from his co-conspirator, who worked at the company that won the bids. Press release