$50,000 bail posted in MART bribery case.

• Position: LOCAL NEWS

Byline: George Barnes

LEOMINSTER - A Newton man was released on $50,000 cash bail after being arraigned Tuesday on charges of paying bribes to Montachusett Regional Transit Authority employees to have business steered to five transportation companies he operates.

Alexander L. Shrayber, 55, has been charged with paying medical assistance bribes/kickbacks and paying a business bribe. He was arraigned before Judge Mark Noonan and released after payment of $50,000 cash bail and is to appear next at a pretrial hearing Aug. 27. The judge also ordered that his passport be taken and that he have no contact with MART or any of its employees. The judge ruled that the passport should be taken because of the seriousness of the charges and the fact that although he is an American citizen, he was born in Odessa, Ukraine, and frequently travels out of the country. The bail amount and conditions were upheld Wednesday at a hearing in Leominster District Court.

According to court records, Nancy Osario, a former employee of MART whose employment was terminated for bypassing the low bid system to divert trip assignments for Medicaid patients to Mr. Shrayber's businesses, told investigators from the attorney general's Medicaid Fraud Division she had been receiving $500 cash per month for about three years from someone she identified as Alex S.

The money was received in exchange for bypassing the low-bid...