Bolingbrook man accused of squeezing Army contractor for payoff

A civilian project engineer has been charged with squeezing an Army Corps of Engineers contractor for a bribe in connection with a $2.5 million plan to build a park in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, federal officials announced Monday.

Joselito Domingo, 45, of Bolingbrook was arrested in Baltimore where he arrived over the weekend from Afghanistan, officials said.

The U.S. attorney's office said it would ask to have Domingo brought to Chicago to face charges of demanding a $40,000 payoff in connection with the Iraqi park.

The contractor who Domingo allegedly pressured for a bribe cooperated with the FBI and the Defense Department throughout the investigation, officials said.

Domingo was charged in a federal criminal complaint. An accompanying affidavit said he supervised various construction projects such as schools and roads in and around Kirkuk, Iraq, from 2005 to November 2008.

FBI agents and Defense Department investigators learned from two individuals in late March that Domingo sought payoffs from one of the contractors, according to the affidavit.

The name of his attorney in Baltimore was not immediately known.

Bribery carries a maximum penalty of 15 years and a $250,000 fine, although advisory sentencing guidelines could call for a much lesser sentence.