U.S. Army reserve officer pleads guilty in Iraq case (money laundering)

[ProSense]

U.S. Army reserve officer pleads guilty in Iraq case

By Jim Wolf
41 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Army Reserve officer pleaded guilty on Friday to improperly steering millions of dollars in Iraq reconstruction contracts as part of a conspiracy involving kickbacks, smuggling and sexual favors.

Lt. Col. Bruce Hopfengardner, 46, of Frederick, Virginia, was the first military office to admit taking part in the scheme to defraud the U.S.-led occupation authority.

He pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and money laundering in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Justice Department said in a statement.

Hopfengardner, who had been a police chief in California, served as an adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority.

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Prosecutors said he and others plotted to steer millions of dollars to Philip Bloom, a U.S. citizen with businesses in Romania and postwar Iraq. In exchange, they received money, plane tickets, jewelry, alcohol, cigars and sexual favors from women provided by Bloom at his villa in Baghdad and at least one other place, the government said.

Robert Stein, a former U.S. Defense Department contract employee, pleaded guilty on February 5 to related charges. He controlled the spending of about $82 million in CPA funds reserved for reconstruction projects in south-central Iraq.

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Two other Army Reserve lieutenant colonels were arrested last year in connection with the investigation.

more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060825/ts_nm/iraq_usa_conspiracy_dc_1

[stopbush]

1. Why does Yahoo hate our military?