Feds: hotel execs stole $3 million

Two executives at a hotel owned by the University of Pennsylvania face federal charges in what prosecutors say was a $3 million fraud.

Kenneth Kapikian, 57, the general manager of the Sheraton University City Hotel and Dennis Gagliardi, 63, the hotel’s chief engineer, accepted kickbacks from contractors in exchange for accepting invoices that were inflated by as much as 20 percent, according to court documents.

According to court documents, Kapikian, of Wayne,and Gagliardi, of Chester Springs, accepted roughly $709,000 in kickbacks working on interior design, information technology and interior design.

The pair also owned a washing machine company that submitted 49 fraudulent invoices to the hotel worth $2.3 million. Federal authorities say the company performed no work.