BUSINESS OWNER SENTENCED IN HANFORD KICKBACKS CASE

The business owner who gave $40,000 in kickbacks to Fluor Hanford purchasers has been sentenced to community service rather than jail time. Shane Fast, owner of the defunct Fast Pipe and Supply and a former Congressional candidate, must perform 100 hours of community service and pay a fine of $1,000, ruled Judge Lonny Suko of Eastern Washington District U.S. Court. He also will be on probation for three years. The Department of Justice  had recommended Fast be sentenced to 10 to 16 months confinement, which U.S. Attorney Michael Ormsby said in court documents was on the low end of the sentencing guideline range. 

 

However, Fast’s attorney argued for no imprisonment, pointing out that  none of the Hanford purchasers who had accepted the kickbacks had been charged with a crime and at most had been required to pay a civil settlement. “Such inequality in treatment seems patently unjust, as it appears to indicate that the non-governmental actor bears a greater responsibility than the officials for such conduct,” Fast’s attorney said in court documents. Fast knew that Hanford employees were not allowed to accept gifts greater than $25, but did not know he was committing a crime by giving the gifts, Fast’s attorney said. Gifts included items such as professional sporting event tickets and restaurant and department store gift certificates.