The former Director of Fleet and Facilities for the company that manages the operations and maintenance of Boston Public Schools’ (BPS) school buses was arrested and charged Friday for allegedly soliciting bribes from vendors who worked on the buses and in the bus yards, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Michael Muller, 59, of Millbury was charged with five counts of soliciting and accepting bribes as an agent of BPS, five counts of conspiring to commit bribery, five counts of conspiring to commit honest services mail fraud and four counts of extortion.
He appeared in Boston Federal Court Friday and had no comment for 7NEWS outside the courthouse.
According to court documents, Muller’s employer, the Transportation Company, had a contract with BPS to manage the operations and maintenance of BPS’ fleet of more than 700 school buses. When not on the road, the buses were kept in bus yards owned by the City of Boston. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Muller supervised all the Transportation Company employees who worked in those yards, and had the authority to fire them.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the Transportation Company subcontracted out much of its work on the BPS contract, including to vendors who cleaned the buses, made autobody repairs, and plowed snow from the yards.
The office said said between 2010 and December 2021, Muller allegedly solicited and accepted a total of more than $870,000 in bribes and kickbacks from five vendors. The alleged bribes included, cash, checks, a used pickup truck worth $15,000, and $85,000 in building materials for his vacation house. Muller also allegedly required one vendor to hire his adult child.
Boston Public Schools said when it learned of the allegations in 2022, Muller was immediately fired and the district notified law enforcement.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said Muller violated public trust by, “…treating taxpayer-funded contracts as a source of illicit income and, for years, siphoning off money that should have supported students.”
If found guilty, Muller could spend decades in federal prison and face fines worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
John Colantuoni, 60, of Westwood, was also named in the indictment. He is charged with one count of paying bribes to Muller as an agent of BPS, one count of conspiring to commit bribery, one count of conspiring to commit honest services mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice.
Colantuoni was arrested in Florida Friday, and is expected to be arraigned in Boston.
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