Federal prosecutors say they have uncovered a $450,000 bribery scheme involving the reconstruction of the Third Avenue Bridge, a major throughway between Manhattan and the Bronx. The city’s director of movable bridges, Balram Chandiramani, and another Department of Transportation official, Uday Shah, appeared in federal court in Brooklyn yesterday, although neither has been charged with a crime. Prosecutors say the two men received money for helping a construction firm negotiate with the city in a dispute over the project’s cost.

Mr. Chandiramani and Mr. Shah leaked information from the city to the construction firm that helped negotiate a better settlement, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in court yesterday.

The dispute came after the construction corporation, which prosecutors declined to name, submitted a claim for $16.5 million to the city, which it said it was never paid.

Investigators say Mr. Shah and Mr. Chandiramani coached a company official on the Transportation Department’s negotiating positions. Mr. Chandiramani is accused of guaranteeing the corporation a settlement of between $6.5 and $6.6 million in exchange for 10% of the settlement amount.