Sentencing delayed for Connecticut home builder in bribes scheme

Richard Girouard, the Connecticut home builder who in November pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe a bank official and reaping $6 million in profits from the scheme, faces a maximum of five years in prison when he’s sentenced in April. Girouard, who won several awards from the Home Builders Association during his tenure as head of Girouard Associates, was indicted last January on 15 counts related to the conspiracy to rig bids and pleaded guilty to one as part of a plea agreement, under which the government is seeking to seize his waterfront home in a gated, Norwalk, Conn. community. The 4,400-square-foot home, which the government said he renovated using some of the proceeds from his scheme, is currently listed for $6.4 million. Girouard had been scheduled to be sentenced March 4, but his lawyer filed a motion to have the sentencing delayed so that Girouard, 55, could “resolve certain critical issues” that would allow Girouard Associates to continue operations if he is sentenced to time behind bars. Girouard Associates CFO Paul Mayotte was also indicted in the scheme and pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud in December. [NYT]