Rogue jurors, indictments, plea deals etc.. – the news
Employee of Federal Contractor Charged with Disclosing National Defense Information to National News Reporter
August 27, 2010 – WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia has returned an indictment charging Stephen Jin-Woo Kim with unlawfully disclosing national defense information to a reporter for a national news organization and making false statements to the FBI.
The indictment, which was unsealed today, was announced by David S. Kris, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division; Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; and Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office.
Kim, age 43, was an employee of a federal contractor who was on detail to the State Department at the time of the alleged disclosure. Kim made his initial appearance today in court in the District of Columbia. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison for the unlawful disclosure of national defense information and up to five years in prison for the making of false statements.
According to the indictment, in June 2009, Kim knowingly and willfully disclosed information contained in an intelligence report classified Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) to a reporter for a national news organization who was not entitled to receive it. The classified information related to the national defense, specifically, intelligence sources and methods and intelligence concerning the military capabilities and preparedness of a particular foreign nation. (Click HERE for article)
The Brooks trial: When jurors go rogue
Harnesslink -26-Aug-2010 – Andrew Cohen – It is by far the least surprising legal development of the year that there would be trouble inside the jury room in the corporate fraud trial of David H. Brooks, the titular head of the Perfect World Enterprises and Bulletproof Enterprises harness racing empire.
The white-collar case with the red-light tinge has been a circus, a freak show, and a mess since its inception. And I’m quite sure I’m not the only one who sees grand irony in the fact that Brooks’ jury might get hung up because one or more of its members may be cheating on the oath of service.
Brooks’ zany trial (involving two defendants, actually, allegations of hundreds of millions of dollars of fraud, and decades in prison as a potential sentence) was far too long. And long trials typically beget long deliberations. But it’s been three weeks or so and jurors should have been back with a verdict by now. Last week, the federal judge/zookeeper who presides over U.S. v. Brooks received a note from a juror who wrote that some colleague “sit there and read testimony that doesn’t relate to the charges we are discussing.” U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert gently reminded the panel that they all needed to stay focused upon deliberations.
Now comes this. A new note from a juror asking to be dismissed:”I would like to be excused from the jury because there are people on the jury who at times do not add any input. . . . I feel that they are prolonging the case because they don’t want to go back to work.” You don’t hear about that type of juror misconduct every day in a federal criminal case. Perhaps the free lunches served to the panel at the Central Islip courthouse are particularly nutritious. Perhaps jurors just want to go over one more time in the transcripts the salacious details about Brooks’ expenses-the porn, the hookers, the plane-rides to Las Vegas. There are people on the jury tells me there is more than one rogue juror. That’s bad news all around. (Click HERE for article)
Agencies are getting too attached to incumbent contractors, watchdog finds
Robert Brodsky - August 26, 2010 – Federal agencies are failing to maximize opportunities to make contracts competitive, often because of poor management or because officials have grown comfortable with incumbent contractors, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.
The watchdog reviewed trends in noncompetitive contracts during the past several years and discovered a number of questionable business practices by contracting officials and program managers. GAO found 44 percent of all federal contracts in fiscal 2009 either were not placed up for competition or attracted only one bid.
The report (GAO-10-833), which the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee requested, highlighted contracts that appeared to be written with such narrowly defined requirements that only one company could reasonably compete. In other instances, program offices pressed for follow-on contracts to be awarded without competition to the existing company because it would be more expeditious since the offices already had formed a relationship with the firm. (Click HERE for Article)
Young arms dealer gets into more trouble
Robert Brodsky - August 24, 2010 – A Miami arms dealer who has admitted to selling faulty, decades-old Chinese munitions to Afghan security forces is back in trouble with the law.
Efraim Diveroli, who was 22 years old when his company, AEY Inc., secured a nearly $300 million Defense Department contract to provide ammunition to Afghanistan’s army and police force, was arrested on Aug. 20 in Brevard County, Fla.
He was charged with possession of firearms as a convicted felon and possession of firearms while under indictment for a felony offense. Diveroli, who will likely face additional criminal charges, was held without bond. The New York Times first reported Diveroli’s arrest on Monday.
Diveroli pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to make fraudulent statements to the U.S. government in relation to the Afghan contract. He faces five years in prison when he is sentenced on Nov. 8. Under the terms of his plea deal, he is forbidden from selling or handling firearms. (Click HERE for article)
Former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Charged with Bribery and Related Crimes in Afghanistan Fuel Theft Scheme
August 24, 2010 – WASHINGTON – A former U.S. Army staff sergeant was charged today with bribery, theft of government property and conspiracy in connection with a fuel theft scheme to solicit approximately $400,000 in bribes from a government contractor in Afghanistan, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride of the Eastern District of Virginia.
Stevan Nathan Ringo, 26, of Marrero, La., was charged today in a three-count indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia, with one count of bribery as a public official, one count of theft of government property, and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and theft of government property. Ringo was originally arrested on June 25, 2010, based on a criminal complaint charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit theft of government property.
According to the indictment, Ringo was stationed at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Shank, a U.S. Army installation in the Logar Province of Eastern Afghanistan. FOB Shank supports U.S. military operations in Afghanistan in various ways, including through fuel receipt and redistribution. More specifically, the Army stores large quantities of fuel at FOB Shank and redistributes that fuel to installations in the surrounding area through government contractors. Ringo’s responsibilities at FOB Shank included supervision of that fuel redistribution process. (Click HERE for article)
Wartime Contracting team will examine big-dollar U.S. construction projects during Afghanistan trip
ARLINGTON, VA, August 23, 2010 – A commissioner and four professional staff of the federal Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan (CWC) have joined two staffers from the CWC field office in Kabul for a week-long examination of U.S. construction contracts in war-torn Afghanistan.
The United States has committed billions of dollars to construction projects in Afghanistan to support its military, diplomatic, and reconstruction efforts there. Projects include base facilities, power plants, office buildings, fuel storage, schools, and training centers for Afghan security forces. Contracting agencies include the U.S. Departments of Defense and State and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Another CWC team returned from Afghanistan last week after gathering information on security and logistics issues. Such commission trips provide on-the-ground evidence for research and hearings that will feed into reform recommendations to Congress.
“Construction contracting in a war zone half a world away involves real challenges on cost, quality, timeliness, suitability, and sustainability,” said CWC Co-Chair Michael Thibault. “The government needs a clearer view on the way these projects are planned, contracted, and supervised. We often don’t know how many people are working on U.S. bases, whether prime contractors are effectively managing their subcontractors, whether employee vetting and access control are adequate, and whether Afghans can sustain projects like the $300 million Kabul power plant after U.S. personnel leave.” (Click HERE for Article)
US contractor investigated for overcharging claim
BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE and RICHARD LARDNER (AP) – August 14, 2010 - WASHINGTON — A U.S. contractor managing more than $1 billion in reconstruction contracts in Afghanistan faces federal criminal and civil investigations of claims that it overcharged the government for work, according to federal court documents.
Federal prosecutors are focusing on whether the Louis Berger Group, based in Morristown, N.J., submitted inflated invoices to the U.S. Agency for International Development, which oversees many of the government’s international development projects.
The allegations come as U.S. officials spar with Afghan President Hamid Karzai over allegations of corruption in his government. Karzai has questioned U.S.-led investigations of corruption in Afghanistan and argued that international donors have ignored corruption in billions of dollars worth of development projects they have handled.
Louis Berger has been a major player in U.S.-funded reconstruction projects in Iraq and Afghanistan, now leading a $1.4 billion USAID infrastructure project to build roads and power plants in Afghanistan. (Click HERE for article)
Other Related Posts From Ms Sparky
- Guilty plea in the shooting of Lucas “Trent” Vinson
- A rogue by any other name and other news
- Blumenauer seeks end to backroom deals
- Pentagon Doles Out Sweetheart Deals for Wartime Supplies
- Iraq fraud convict to go on trial after plea agreement rescinded
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