Blumenauer seeks end to backroom deals

Posted on: September 30th, 2010 at 1:56 am — by Ms Sparky
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New legislation for defense contractors calls for congressional OK

Jennifer Rizzo – CNN National Security Producer – Washington (CNN) — An Oregon congressman is calling on the Defense Department to notify Congress when it accepts a substantial liability on behalf of a contractor.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, said Wednesday he has introduced the legislation in an effort to keep the United States from footing the bill for negligent contractors protected under what he called secret contract clauses with the government. He said the measure would crack down on indemnification clauses that give financial immunity to contractors, and would place increased scrutiny on government contractors operating in war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

The legislation looks to keep payouts to a minimum and requires the Pentagon to notify Congress when accepting liability on behalf of a contractor that exceeds $1 million. If a company is found guilty of negligence, the legislation proposes that it not be eligible to win another contract with an indemnification clause.

“Our war contracting process does too little to ensure that contractors act with the best interests of our troops and taxpayers in mind, and we’re going to change that,” Blumenauer said.

Blumenauer has been pressing the Defense Department on its contracting process since July after a lawsuit was filed by 26 veterans against defense contractor Kellog, Brown, and Root. (Click HERE for original article)
Posted in LOGCAP III - KBR, Qarmat Ali Lawsuits, Reports & Investigations, RIO-KBR, Senate & House Committee Hearings, Sodium Dichromate @ Qarmat Ali. Tags: , , , , , , . 22 Comments »

Senator calls for permanent wartime contracting watchdog

Posted on: September 29th, 2010 at 3:00 am — by Ms Sparky
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Katherine McIntire Peters - September 28, 2010 – Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said Tuesday the Defense Department should establish a permanent inspector general office to oversee wartime contracting in an effort to avoid repeating mistakes in Iraq and Afghanistan that have resulted in the waste of billions of taxpayer dollars.

The former state auditor, speaking at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the Defense Department’s efficiency initiative to redirect $100 billion in overhead savings to battlefield needs, said, “I think it’s very conservative to think we’ve had $100 billion go up in smoke in Iraq.”

McCaskill proposed creating a permanent IG office dedicated to contingency contracting oversight. Such an office could institutionalize the lessons learned by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction under the stewardship of Stuart W. Bowen, whose reports should be required reading for military commanders, she said.

“You would have continuity in terms of staff that felt committed to that particular activity, as opposed to [asking] ‘How long are we going to be around and do I need to hitch my star to another moving target?’ ” McCaskill said.

“We’ve got really good people that learned a lot in Iraq, and then we’re trying to re-create the same kind of office in Afghanistan,” she added. “It seems to me we’re missing opportunities here.”

, undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, said, “I hear you loud and clear. I’ll take that back to the department for consideration.”

McCaskill also reiterated her call to have , the special inspector general for Afghanistan, removed from his post after a review found he had issued a no-bid contract hiring , a former Defense Department inspector general who resigned under allegations of misconduct in 2005.

“I have written now three letters to the president about the special inspector general over Afghanistan,” McCaskill said. “We now have had an independent review of his work by a team of auditors, a peer review, and they have said [his office] is woefully lacking. Probably the whip cream and the cherry on this particular situation is that here’s somebody who’s supposed to be the eyes and ears looking at contracting in a major way, and he hires someone on a no-bid contract for $95,000 for two months’ work.”

“The special inspector general over Afghanistan should be fired today,” McCaskill said.

She exhorted Carter and , vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to take that message to Defense : “I know the kind of respect the president has for Secretary Gates. If Secretary Gates weighed in on this I think we’d get some action. It’s enough to make the top of my head blow off.” (Click HERE for original article)

Posted in GOV. CONTRACTORS, Reports & Investigations, Senate & House Committee Hearings. Tags: , , , , , , , , . 5 Comments »

Trials, tribulations, deviants on duty & other news

Posted on: September 26th, 2010 at 6:13 am — by Forseti
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Pentagon destroys thousands of copies of Army officer’s memoir
Chris Lawrence and Padma Rama, CNN – September 25, 2010 – Washington (CNN) — The Department of Defense recently purchased and destroyed thousands of copies of an Army Reserve officer’s memoir in an effort to safeguard state secrets, a spokeswoman said Saturday.

“DoD decided to purchase copies of the first printing because they contained information which could cause damage to national security,” Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. April Cunningham said.

In a statement to CNN, Cunningham said defense officials observed the September 20 destruction of about 9,500 copies of Army Reserve ’s new memoir “Operation Dark Heart.”

Shaffer says he was notified Friday about the Pentagon’s purchase.

“The whole premise smacks of retaliation,” Shaffer told CNN on Saturday. “Someone buying 10,000 books to suppress a story in this digital age is ludicrous.” (Click HERE for article)

Defense contractor confirms indicted Florida businessman sold counterfeit computer chips
Robert Napper – September 24, 2010 – Federal authorities say Pinellas businessman for years dealt in counterfeit computer chips, risking the lives of military personnel and potentially endangering national security.

Authorities say Wren’s dealings in counterfeit “military grade” integrated circuits, or ICs, made him rich, but one alleged victim – a major defense contractor specializing in missile technology – says the company purchased chips that turned out to be fake from a supplier, who bought them from Wren.
“We quickly determined upon failure-testing they were counterfeit and contacted the FBI,” says Jon Kasle, spokesman for Raytheon, a major defense and aerospace systems supplier.

Kasle declined to comment on the specifics of the tests, citing security concerns.

Last week, federal authorities descended on Wren’s Clearwater electronics dealership, , after a Washington D.C. grand jury came back with indictments for him and his office manager accusing them of mail fraud and trafficking in counterfeit goods. (Click HERE for article)

Former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Pleads Guilty to Bribery in Afghanistan Fuel Theft Scheme
September 24, 2010 – WASHINGTON – A former U.S. Army staff sergeant pleaded guilty today to bribery in connection with a fuel theft scheme to solicit more than $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. 

, 26, of Marrero, La., pleaded guilty today before Judge T.S. Ellis, III in U.S. District Court in Virginia to one count of bribery.   Ringo was originally charged in an indictment filed on Aug. 24, 2010.   Ringo’s sentencing is set for Jan. 7, 2011.  (Click HERE for article)

Robert Saum, Pentagon Psych Trauma Chief, Reassigned After Sexual Harassment Allegations
ANNE FLAHERTY and RICHARD LARDNER – September 23, 2010 – WASHINGTON — The Army officer in charge of overseeing treatment for troops suffering from brain injuries and psychological trauma has been reassigned until an internal investigation into his management of the office is completed, a senior Pentagon official said Thursday.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in GOV. CONTRACTORS, Indictments, Convictions & Arrests, Rape, Hazing, Discrimination & Harassment, Reports & Investigations, Security Contractors. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment »

David Isenberg: PSCs on Drugs

Posted on: September 25th, 2010 at 6:15 am — by Forseti
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September 23, 2010 – Over the years all sorts of things have been said and written about Erik Prince, founder, owner, and former head of Xe Services (formerly Blackwater Worldwide). Most of it has been critical. I’ve written before that while some of it, perhaps even lots of it, has been deserved, much of it has not. But thanks to pop culture, some lazy reporters, lots of ignorant online commentary, and people’s inclination to fit people into simplistic frameworks of good and bad, and ignore underlying structural reasons as to why we have private security contractors in the first place, Prince has been subjected to all sorts of unwarranted rhetorical abuse. 

So one might be inclined to forgive him when he pops off and says something rash. On the other hand, there is a saying that when you find yourself in a hole the first thing you do is stop digging. Remember the proverb; silence is golden. As in Erik should know by know that there are times when he should just keep his mouth shut. 

The reason he should button it is that you may recall that last month Prince was questioned in Abu Dhabi in connection with a fraud lawsuit filed by former employees that seeks millions of dollars in damages. He was questioned by , the lawyer who represents two former Blackwater employees, Brad and , who filed the lawsuit in a US district court in Virginia in December 2008, alleging that Prince and companies he controlled defrauded the US government. For background see my past Feb. 13, 2010 post “Blackwater Uses the F(raud) Word.” 

Now it turns out that the defendant Prince is seeking a protective order to seal the court file and to gag extrajudicial statements in the “Davis v. Prince” litigation. As one would expect Ms. Burke s arguing that the plaintiffs would be severely prejudiced “if the Court adopted Defendants? proposed Protective Order sealing everything and Defendants? proposed Gag Order prohibiting any contact with the media. Relators’ investigative efforts would be severely circumscribed by either Order.” 

A hearing on this issue will be held tomorrow morning at the federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Yesterday Burke and her co-counsel filed a motion with new allegations. Note: if you are someone with a subscription to PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) you can download the motion (1:08-cv-01244-TSE -TRJ) 

Reading it one understands why Prince wants it suppressed. 

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in GOV. CONTRACTORS, Indictments, Convictions & Arrests, LAWSUITS, Reports & Investigations, Security Contractors. Tags: , , , , , , . No Comments »

DoD contractor CSA jeopardizes military mission due to lax security

Posted on: September 24th, 2010 at 5:26 am — by Ms Sparky
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DoD: Civilian contractors in Kuwait didn’t have proper clearances

From Charley Keyes, CNN Senior Producer September 22, 2010

Washington (CNN) — A new Defense Department report says many civilian contractors working in Kuwait didn’t have proper clearances and could have jeopardized the safety of U.S. military personnel and undermined national security.

The Defense Department Inspector General said dozens of contractors worked in sensitive positions without security clearances or the official passes they needed. And some of those people, according to the report, were allowed to remain on the job even after inspectors uncovered the security problems.

The report says a company called Combat Support Associates (CSA) was awarded the contract in 1999 for what was called Combat Support Services Contract-Kuwait (). The contract was extended and is due to expire at the end of September after costing the government more than $3.3 billion dollars.

“CSSC-K contractor employees occupied sensitive positions such as force protection officers, system administrators, and supply inspectors in Kuwait without obtaining security clearances,” the report says.

The department’s inspector general says the company’s security office failed to track 21 of 379 employees who were in sensitive positions, such as ammunition supply, and that 11 employees did not have a valid security clearance. In addition there was no information whether some of the employees had a U.S. passport, although U.S. citizenship was required by the contract.

“Additionally, CSA officials allowed 20 employees to remain in sensitive positions without the required security clearance after its internal quality assurance office and DCMA ( the Defense Contract Management Agency, overseeing the contract) officials informed CSA officials that they were in violation of the contract,” the report says. “If DCMA and contractor officials do not ensure that all employees have the required security clearances and maintain proper security information, they jeopardize the military mission and threaten the safety and security of the military, civilian, and contractor personnel in Kuwait.”

CNN was unable to contact representatives of the contractor. The inspector general’s report says the company claims it did not understand the terms of the agreement.

“According to CSA’s human resources information system analyst, the Army did not clearly define or designate all sensitive positions; therefore, CSA officials relied on their own department managers to determine which positions required a security clearance,” the report says.

And the report suggests the Army and Pentagon’s oversight of the contract may have been lacking.

“If the Army does not ensure that all contractor employees have the required security clearances and maintain proper security information, these employees pose a threat to the military, civilian, and U.S. contractor personnel in Kuwait, as well as to national security,” the report says. (click HERE for original article)

Posted in Combat Support Ass. (CSA), GOV. CONTRACTORS, Reports & Investigations. Tags: , , , , . 214 Comments »

More contractors than troops killed during past year in Iraq and Afghanistan

Posted on: September 23rd, 2010 at 3:45 pm — by Ms Sparky
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By Katherine McIntire Peters – September 22, 2010

Recent data show that more contractors were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan than U.S. troops during the first six months of 2010, according to a George Washington University law professor.

“Contractors supporting the war effort today are losing more lives than the U.S. military waging these wars,” wrote Steven L. Schooner, co-director of the Government Procurement Law Program at The George Washington Law School, and Collin D. Swan, a student there. Their article appeared in the September issue of Service Contractor magazine, a quarterly publication of the Professional Services Council, an industry group.

The data show that in the first half of 2010, contractor fatalities in Afghanistan for the first time exceeded troop fatalities — 232 and 195, respectively. Contractor deaths in Iraq surpassed military deaths there beginning in 2009. Between January 2009 and June 2010, there were 204 contractor deaths and 188 troop deaths in Iraq.

Since the wars began in 2001, 5,531 U.S. troops and 2,008 contractors have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, in addition to 44 killed in Kuwait, many of whom were supporting missions in the war zones, the authors reported.

“The actual number of contractor fatalities is probably higher than is currently known,” Schooner and Swan wrote. (Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in CONTRACTOR DEATHS, GOV. CONTRACTORS, Reports & Investigations. Tags: , , , , , . No Comments »

KBR’s Jack Stanley Free Until 2011

Posted on: September 23rd, 2010 at 5:06 am — by Ms Sparky
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DateWednesday, September 22, 2010 – Former boss Albert “Jack” Stanley, who pleaded guilty in September 2008 to a two-count criminal information charging him with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and to commit mail and wire fraud, will remain free on bail until at least January 19, 2011.

Stanley was due to be sentenced tomorrow. But earlier this month reset Stanley’s hearing date, the eighth sentencing delay in the case.

Stanley, 66, admitted that from 1995 to 2004, he helped a joint venture that included KBR and its predecessors funnel $182 million in bribes to government officials in . The bribes were paid in exchange for contracts worth $6 billion to build liquefied natural gas facilities. He was sentenced to 84 months in prison and a restitution payment of $10.8 million. The jail term is subject to review based on his cooperation.

Under his plea agreement, Stanley can’t ask for a reduction in his sentence based on his cooperation or the value of his testimony. But the DOJ can recommend a lighter sentence to the judge if it believes Stanley has fulfilled the conditions of his plea.

With Stanley’s help, the DOJ and SEC have recovered $1.28 billion in -related penalties and disgorgement so far from the TSKJ consortium members, which KBR led when Stanley was in charge: $579 million from KBR / Halliburton, $365 million from Snamprogetti / ENI, and $338 million from Technip, with more to come from the final JV partner, JGC.

Download the September 3, 2008 plea agreement in U.S. v. Albert Jackson Stanley here. (Click HERE for original article)

Posted in Indictments, Convictions & Arrests, KBR, KBR Investigations, Reports & Investigations. Tags: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment »
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