Marra becomes free man after serving sentence for bribery
The former executive director of the Fayette County Housing Authority became a free man last week, 32 months after he began serving a federal prison sentence for kickbacks and bribery. John E. Marra was released Sept. 22 from Renewal Inc., the Pittsburgh halfway house where he spent the final months of his sentence. The 79-year-old must now serve three years of supervised release, which is similar to probation, and in August started making $12,605 monthly restitution payments to the housing authority.
As part of his sentence, Marra was ordered to repay $278,125 to the authority. He paid $75,000 by the time he reported to prison. The authority also received approximately $175 from his prison wages during his incarceration, according to housing authority finance director Sonya Over.
The bigger restitution checks arrived in August and September, said Over, who added that the authority anticipates regular monthly payments now that Marra is released. His sentence stipulated that he start making bigger payments once released from prison.
“He pays the Federal District Court in Pittsburgh. That’s who we get the checks from,” said Over. “I understand another one’s on the way (for October). We should be getting those around the 10th of every month.”
Helen Ramsdell, community corrections manager for Renewal Inc., which is based in Pittsburgh, confirmed that Marra was released nine days ago. She said his original 37-month sentence was reduced for good conduct and that he most likely received weekend passes to go home during his three-month stay at Renewal Inc.
“That’s part of the programming, weekend passes, that generally all inmates get. It’s part of their reintegration,” said Ramsdell. “He’s done with his confinement portion, that’s right. Now he’ll be under the U.S. Probation Office for three years.”
The good conduct time accrued by Marra shaved five months off his sentence, using a formula applied to all inmates in the federal prison system.
Following an audit and investigation by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General, Marra in 1999 pleaded guilty to orchestrating a bribery and kickback scheme involving housing authority contractors Edward and Eloise Festor. Their companies kicked back to Marra 15 to 20 percent of the $1.3 million in contracts he illegally helped them win from 1985 through 1993.
Those contracts were for moving and storage of tenant possessions during remodeling projects, asbestos removal that was later found to be improperly done and termite wood damage repair that was later found not to have occurred.
Marra started serving his prison sentence in January 2001 at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Ky. He was sent to the Federal Corrections Center in Loretto, Pa., four months later. He went to Renewal Inc. in June.