Former VP of Simon Property Group sentenced in kickback scheme

PITTSBURGH – The former vice president of Simon Property Group will spend 18 months in federal prison for taking $766,000 in kickbacks to get a Pittsburgh-area construction firm work on two mall projects.

Fifty-five-year-old Mark Palombaro of Carmel was sentenced Monday by a federal judge in Pittsburgh.

Palombaro previously pleaded guilty to mail fraud for persuading his former company, Simon Property Group, to hire R.E. Crawford Construction for the mall projects in Seattle and Laguna Hills, Calif.

Crawford is based in the Pittsburgh suburb of Springdale. The construction company’s owner, Robert Crawford, was previously sentenced to four years’ probation, including a year of house arrest, for paying the kickbacks and padding bills to Simon Property by about $3.3 million. Crawford has repaid that money.

Palombaro and his attorney declined comment. He’ll report to prison in a few weeks.