Guilty Pleas in Afghanistan Defense Contracts

It appears that there will be some serious prison time handed out defense corruption cases. Many believe we are only scratching the surface of what went on during the Bush years.

Military Officials Plead Guilty to Felony Charges Over Afghanistan Defense Contracts: "'Today’s announcement makes it perfectly clear that such activity by anyone affiliated with the U.S. Army, in or out of uniform, will not be tolerated. We will continue to investigate allegations of this nature and do everything in our power to see that persons responsible are held accountable and brought to justice,' said Brigadier General Rodney Johnson, the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command.

The individuals face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for the mail fraud conspiracy charge, and up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each of the bribery conspiracy counts. The maximum fine for these offenses may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum. The individuals also face up to 15 years in prison and fines up to three times the amount or value of the bribe for each of the bribery counts. Each corporate defendant faces a maximum fine of up to $500,000 on each charged offense.

This case is part of an ongoing investigation being prosecuted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section (NCES), with assistance from the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs. The investigation of this case is being conducted by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (Army CID), and Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Additional assistance was provided by Customs and Border Protection, Field Operations in Chicago; and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations Division."

It will be interesting to see how far these criminal investigations go beyond the cases mentioned in the excerpt above.