The owner of a Chicago-area construction company was sentenced Wednesday to 7 1/2 years in federal prison in a scheme to bribe a corrupt Amtrak official overseeing a $58 million contract to renovate a historic train station in Philadelphia with hundreds of thousands of dollars in lavish gifts, including trips, meals, jewelry and a German shepherd puppy.

Mark Snedden, 69, of Munster, Indiana, the founder and president of Dolton-based MARK 1 Restoration, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia earlier this year to one count each of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery and making a false claim.

In addition to a 90-month prison term, U.S. District Chief Judge Wendy Beetlestone fined Snedden $250,000 and ordered him to pay just over $2 million in restitution, according t

See Full Page