Cirigliano and his brother were widely held responsible for the deadly Once railway disaster in February 2012, which occurred on one of the railway lines that they ran, because they had allegedly pocketed government subsidies intended to cover maintenance costs. Grupo Plaza was said to have been awarded concessions for rail and bus lines because of Cirigliano's close friendships with Presidents Carlos Menem, Nestor Kirchner, and Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Also, Cirigliano was accused of having bribed Secretaries of Transportation Ricardo Jaime and Juan Pablo Schiavi, who directly oversaw the awarding of rail and bus concessions. Later in 2012, both Cirigliano and his brother Mario went on trial on charges of corruption and fraudulent administration in connection with the Once crash.