6 plead not guilty to fraud, bribery

[MindPilot]

Source: San Diego Union Tribune

In the autumn of 2005, a mutual friend introduced Pamela Banks to a burly ex-Marine named Gary Alexander, at the time a high-ranking official at the secretive SPAWAR military research facility in San Diego.
Alexander had a simple proposition. He could get Banks hired as a subcontractor on government projects through his position at SPAWAR, and get her all the work she would want.
In return, Alexander asked for one thing: a 30 percent cut of the revenue generated from the contracts.
Banks agreed, according to federal court records. She set up a small company in her San Diego home dubbed Advanced Technical Solutions and over the next two years reeled in $325,000 in subcontracts for SPAWAR work.
Alexander netted $97,000 from the contracts. It amounted to a portion of what appears to be hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes he and his wife, Kelly, are alleged to have collected in a nearly decade-long bribery and fraud spree.


Read more: http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jul/09/1m9spawar23515-6-plead-not-guilty-fraud-bribery/?military&zIndex=129084

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More of the iceberg. This is DARPA-level stuff going on at the SPAWAR (space warfare) facility and the head guy has filed for bankruptcy FOUR times! How in the name of all that is good did Alexander keep his security clearence? Just more evidence of how the Bush administratiuon set an "anything goes" tone in government and another example of scams and schemes that will take years to unwind.

[bertman]

1. "More of the iceberg" is exactly right. Thanks for posting this, MindPilot.

Recommend.

Investigate and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.

[MindPilot]

2. Thanks for the rec! I wish I could give it a sexier headline --people need to see this.

I wonder also if the political pressure on the US attorneys from the Bush white house kept stuff like this from being prosecuted. And if the people involved thought they could get away with it for that very reason.

[Tansy_Gold]

3. Maybe you could add a (comment) to the headline?

I'm not even sure why I clicked on it, but you're correct, it's not a very sexy headline.

However, I'm glad to be number 5 to recommend it.

[OnyxCollie]

4. Kick. nt

[Wednesdays]

5. K&R

:kick: