Record cases in contract probe

[seafan]

Source: USA Today

WASHINGTON — A federal crackdown on corruption involving U.S. contracts in Iraq produced a record number of criminal and administrative cases last month — including the largest bribery case.
The flurry of activity resulted from investigations overseen by a Justice Department task force set up last fall to target corruption in the $44.5 billion Iraq reconstruction program.

Corruption in Iraq — dubbed the "second insurgency" by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) — has been the target of numerous congressional hearings critical of the slow pace of prosecutions. Pentagon auditors have questioned $4 billion in contractors' bills for work in Iraq. So far, 29 people have been charged or convicted, seven in July.
"We're going to see some real results this year in many of the cases SIGIR has over at the Justice Department, as well as the work of this task force," said Stuart Bowen, the inspector general, in a phone interview from Baghdad.

.....

Investigators accounted for four arrests in the last week of July alone, including those of Army Maj. John Cockerham, his wife and sister for allegedly taking $9.6 million in bribes. They have pleaded not guilty.
Since mid-July, action was taken against 11 people and five companies, ranging from criminal convictions to suspension from new contracts. One company suspended as part of an ongoing bribery investigation operates seven warehouses storing weapons and supplies.

.....

Some of the cases brought last month:

•Houston businessman Samir Mahmoud Itani was indicted for overcharging the Army about $2 million for food supplies. He has pleaded not guilty. Paul Nugent, Itani's lawyer, said "there was no intentional wrongdoing."

•Former Army Reserve major John Allen Rivard pleaded guilty to taking more than $220,000 in kickbacks from a supplier in Iraq.

•Anthony Martin, a former employee of KBR Inc., pleaded guilty July 13 to taking $9,000 in kickbacks from a KBR subcontractor.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070815/1a_lede15.art.htm

[aquart]

1. What a free for all it was. Well, for them, not us.

[acmavm]

2. Is it not a form of treason to defraud your own government in a time of

'war'?

Whatever that war may be. I'm still trying to figure out that one.