Geologist Admits Kickback Scheme At Md. Quarry

BALTIMORE (AP) -- A geologist is acknowledging he received more than $100,000 in kickbacks from a contractor for work at Lehigh Cement Co. quarries in Union Bridge, Md., and Mitchell, Ind.

Former Lehigh employee Michael Kilbourne of Toronto, Canada, pleaded guilty to conspiracy Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

Prosecutors say that from 2001 to 2006, Kilbourne received cash payments and a motorcycle from Larry Spann of Madison, Ind., in return for hauling contracts. 

Kilbourne faces up to five years in prison at his sentencing May 17. Spann has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and is scheduled for sentencing June 30.

Lehigh is owned by HeidelbergCement of Heidelberg, Germany. Its U.S. headquarters are in Irving, Texas.

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