Crackdown on corrupt Iraq contracts yields record caseload

[babylonsister]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-08-15-iraqcontracts_N.htm?csp=34

Crackdown on corrupt Iraq contracts yields record caseload

USA TODAY
By Matt Kelley, 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.

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http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-08-15-iraqcontracts_N.htm?csp=34

[global1]

1. Any Mention Of Halliburton or KBR or Blackwater?.......nt