» 2011 » February Ms Sparky

KGL awarded US contract in Kuwait worth up to $157 million

Posted on: February 28th, 2011 at 5:51 pm — by Ms Sparky

According to the Defense Logistics Agency/Defense Distribution Center (DLA/DDC) KGL Logistics has been awarded the very lucrative Contractor-Owned/Contractor-Operated (COCO) storage and distribution contract worth up to $157 million US dollars. This contract was award February 28, 2011.

KGL Logistics is the controversial Defense contractors with alleged business ties with Iran and is accused to killing a U.S. soldier LTC Rocky Baragona on May 19, 2003.

The Contractor-Owned/Contractor-Operated (COCO) storage and distribution contract, formerly known as the Defense Distribution Depot Kuwait (DDKS) contract, had been awarded to Agility who has since been indicted for contract fraud accused of overcharging the U.S. Army over 41 months on $8.5 billion in contracts to provide food to soldiers in Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan. Currently Agility is suspended and not eligible to bid on USG contracts.

The COCO contract includes labor, material, equipment and indoor and outdoor storage space in support of storage and distribution services in the CENTCOM Area Of Responsibility (AOR).

According to the FedBizOps.Gov, the scope of this requirement includes planning and managing, receiving, storage, inventory, packaging, Care of Supplies in Storage (COSIS), stock control, stock selection, issue processing, packing, shipping , distribution of repair parts and HAZMAT processing of DLA managed material. All materials, tools, equipment, transportation, and any other items and services not government furnished shall be required, including maintenance of material handling equipment.

The indoor storage space requirement shall be a minimum of 700,000 square feet of collocated space configured for secure rack, bin, bulk and open storage. Also, office space for government personnel is required and is inclusive of the specified indoor space.

The outdoor storage space shall be a minimum of 800,000 square feet and be adjacent to the indoor space. The outdoor storage space is required to be capable of accommodating forklift, truck and trailer vehicles and static loads of full 20 and 40 foot MILVANs. The perimeter of the indoor and outdoor space shall be secured.

The estimated period of performance for this requirement consists of a six (6) month base period for transition /Phase in, and four (4) 1 year options for a total of $157 million US dollars.

Agility lost the 6 year $2 billion dollar Prime Vendor III contract to Anham in April of 2010.

Posted in Agility/PWC/GCC, GOV. CONTRACTORS, Indictments, Convictions & Arrests, KLG Logistics, LAWSUITS, Qui Tam. Tags: Agility, Agility/PWC/GCC, COCO, DDKS, Defense Logistics Agency*, DLA*, KGL Logistics. 36 Comments »

TIPs for the DoJ on filing their case against KBR (Updated 5/3/2011)

Posted on: February 28th, 2011 at 3:14 am — by Ms Sparky

H- Site Managers John Reddy (Left); Gordon Wohlfeil (Center); Bruce Chirinko (Right) slamming shots in Thailand, more than likely at Reddy's Hotel/Bar the Towne Lodge.

Updated 5-3-2011: It appears Yuksel Construction Company, the KBR subcontractor at the center of this investigation, may be providing the DoJ with an abundance of pertinent information. Yuksel contacted the DoJ and according to the most recent motion “Yuksel presented additional factual information bearing on the issues in the case.” One can only hope Yuksel does the right thing and gives the DoJ a list of names of the wrong doers!
~ Ms Sparky

The DoJ is preparing to join the Qui Tam suit against KBR for alleged materials fraud at the H-Sites, Iraq amounting to at least $31 million . I thought it would be helpful to provide some names and photos of potential persons I feel need to be on the short list, for questioning or indictments, whichever suits the DoJ’s fancy. Conveniently someone in Leesville, Louisiana has a website or read (pdf HERE) with photos and names of some of the key players. How thoughtful of them to provide information and support to the DoJ in investigating the misdeeds of KBR management at the H-Sites. I think if the DoJ continues to pull the string on all the H-Sites managers they will most likely find this is just the tip of the “fraud” iceberg.

I’ve written about John Reddy and his Towne Lodge Hotel (aka brothel) in Bangkok before. Reddy has been accused of using his former management position with KBR to solicit KBR employees in Iraq as clientele for his Bangkok business. Bruce Chirinko is named in at least one lawsuit against KBR for sexual harassment.

According to our readers this is not the first or the last of the fraud, waste and rampant abuse of power that has been going on since day one in Iraq and LOGCAP management has been the problem. Most disturbing is when one of these managers gets caught they are allowed to resign and just hop in bed with another contractor and continue their wicked ways. There isn’t a government contractor out there that doesn’t have one or more of these crooks on their payroll. Yes, DynCorp, Fluor, L-3, Agility, ITT and of course KBR the finger is pointing at all of you! Not to mention the fact that these are managers and many hold security clearances. (Read the rest of the story here…)

Lincoln’s Law, audacity, audits & other news

Posted on: February 27th, 2011 at 7:31 am — by Forseti

Worse than traitors in arms are the men who pretend loyalty to the flag, feast and fatten on the misfortunes of the nation while patriotic blood is crimsoning the plains of the south and their countrymen are moldering in the dust.” — Abraham Lincoln

This past week we celebrated President’s day and because Ms. Sparky is all about uncovering corruption, I thought this would be the perfect time to remember President Lincoln and the law he enacted on March 2, 1863 to combat corruption and fraud committed by the unscrupulous, money grubbing gangsters who sold goods to the Union Army during the Civil War.

I found several sites with information on FCA and it’s history here are some highlights of what I found:

The Federal False Claims Act, also called the “Lincoln Act,” or “Lincoln’s Law” or ”Informer’s Act,” or the “Qui Tam statute,” was enacted during the American Civil War in 1863 at President Abraham Lincoln’s request. The law was aimed at stopping dishonest suppliers to the Union military at a time when the war effort made it all but impossible for the government to investigate and prosecute the fraud itself.

During the Civil War, not unlike today, there were greedy and unscrupulous contractors who found it profitable to defraud the government at taxpayer’s expense. The False Claims Act’s purpose was to “root out fraud against the government. . .[a]nd to encourage individuals who are aware of fraud being perpetrated against the government to bring information forward.”

Some historians claim that the False Claims Act came about because of bad mules. During the Civil War, early day defense contractors often sold the Union Army decrepit horses and mules in ill health, faulty rifles and ammunition, and rancid rations and provisions among other things.

War profiteers were shipping boxes of sawdust instead of guns, for instance, and swindling the Union Army into purchasing the same cavalry horses several times.

“You can sell anything to the government at almost any price you’ve got the guts to ask,” boasted one profiteer who made millions unloading moth-eaten blankets to the military.

It seems things haven’t changed much in the last 148 years.
~Forseti

Sexual assault in the armed forces
The military needs to provide the same victim protections as civilians
Niki Tsongas – (Boston Globe) – February 27, 2011 – MORE THAN a dozen veterans who were victims of sexual assault while serving in the US military, including two from Massachusetts, recently filed suit in federal court alleging that the Pentagon did not take adequate steps to protect them. Their complaint is reflective of the deep frustration and sense of betrayal that many victims feel with our military leadership, which seems to be unwilling to forcefully confront the issue of sexual assault within the ranks and which has not provided sufficient resources, rights, and legal protections to victims. (Read the rest of the story here…)

Complaint against KBR highlights extent of deception and fraud in Iraq

Posted on: February 24th, 2011 at 8:16 am — by Ms Sparky

Legal Document Sheds Light on Latest KBR Fraud Lawsuit

By Neil Gordon – POGO

On Friday, the Department of Justice announced it had intervened in a False Claims Act lawsuit against KBR filed by a former employee, James A. Brady III, in connection with KBR’s LOGCAP III (Logistics Civil Augmentation Program) contract with the U.S. Army in Iraq.

The government has not filed a complaint yet, so Justice’s announcement is short on details. However, POGO obtained the complaint Brady filed when he brought the lawsuit nearly four years ago.

According to his complaint, Brady worked as an Operations Specialist for KBR in Iraq from March 2005 to October 2006. He claims that KBR overbilled the government $80 million on a subcontract with a Turkish company called Yuksel to perform operations and maintenance work at Army camps in Iraq. Of that amount, Brady alleges that at least $31 million worth of property and materials purchased under the subcontract was lost–air conditioners, refrigerators, generators and motor vehicles, among other valuable items, just vanished into the desert air. Brady also claims he was fired in retaliation for bringing his concerns to the attention of KBR and Army investigators, although KBR eventually reinstated him and transferred him to Afghanistan to work as an Operations Coordinator. (Read the rest of the story here…)

Contractors running amuck in war-zones, REALLY?

Posted on: February 24th, 2011 at 6:36 am — by Ms Sparky

Suspending or barring bad contractors from getting government work is a powerful tool, but agencies don’t take such action often enough, the commission said. That’s in part because the suspension and debarment process is so cumbersome, especially in a war zone, where locating witnesses and compiling evidence is difficult. The result is that poorly performing or misbehaving companies can keep getting more work, undercutting any incentive for them to improve. – Commission on Wartime Contracting

Commission critical of war-zone contracting

Richard Lardner – The Washington Post – February 23, 2011 – President Obama pledged nearly two years ago to fix the broken system of awarding and managing federal contracts. But a new report paints a grim picture of the government’s reliance on the private sector for support in war zones and urges a series of reforms to prevent more tax dollars from being wasted.

The Commission on Wartime Contracting concluded that the use of hired hands has become a “default option,” pointing to the estimated $177 billion spent since 2001 on contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to a draft of the report expected to be released Thursday. Yet vigorous oversight and management of contractors by the Pentagon, State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development is too often “an administrative after-thought,” the report said.

The bipartisan commission is urging Congress to provide the agencies with more people and authority to control the army of contractors, which at times has nearly equaled the size of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“Unless Congress provides resources to oversee and evaluate contractor performance, waste will continue and national objectives will suffer,” according to a draft of the report obtained by the Associated Press. The investment “will be amply repaid in reduced waste and increased effectiveness” of war-zone contracting, it said.

Obama announced plans in March 2009 to curb the government’s appetite for contractors while also pledging to crack down on fraud, cost overruns and shoddy work. War-zone contracting is a major part of the government-wide problem that Obama targeted.

The panel’s findings underscore the difficulty of enforcing changes to a business sector long dominated by well-connected companies, such as KBR and DynCorp International, that handle construction, transportation, food services, training and aspects of security in combat areas.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in Commission on Wartime Contracting (CWC), GOV. CONTRACTORS, LOGCAP III - KBR, LOGCAP-Dyncorp, Reports & Investigations, Senate & House Committee Hearings. Tags: Afghanistan, Commission on Wartime Contracting, DynCorp*, Iraq, KBR, LOGCAP, Reports & Investigations. 2 Comments »

DoJ steps up to the plate and takes aim at KBR (updated)

Posted on: February 22nd, 2011 at 10:55 am — by Ms Sparky

U.S. Government Intervenes in False Claims Lawsuit Against Kellogg Brown & Root Services Inc.

WASHINGTON – February 18, 2011 – The government has intervened in a lawsuit against Kellogg Brown & Root Services Inc. (KBR) in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, announced the Department of Justice. The lawsuit was filed in February 2007 by James A. Brady III, a former employee of KBR, and alleges that KBR violated the False Claims Act in connection with “LOGCAP III,” the third generation of the U.S. Army’s Logistics Civil Augmentation Program awarded and administered at Rock Island, Ill. Under the contract, KBR was to provide logistics and sustainment support to U.S. military troops in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. KBR performed LOGCAP III largely through subcontractors.

According to the complaint, KBR entered into a subcontract with the Turkish company Yuksel-Reysas to do operations and maintenance work at Army camps near Mosul, Iraq. Brady alleges that KBR violated the False Claims Act because it was unable to account for materials paid for under the Yuksel-Reysas subcontract.

“Contractors hired to provide support to our men and women in uniform must play by the rules,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. “As we’ve done today, the Justice Department will take action against those whom we believe charge the taxpayers for goods and services that were not provided to American troops.”

“We’ve decided to pursue the allegation that money that was intended to support the troops was instead used to pay claims that were false,” said Jim Lewis, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois.

The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private parties to sue on behalf of the United States when they believe that defendants submitted false claims for government funds. The private plaintiffs are called “relators,” and, under the statute, are entitled to receive a share of any funds recovered through the lawsuit. The False Claims Act permits the government to recover three times its damages plus civil penalties. The government has asked the court for 60 days to file its own complaint stating the United States’ allegations. (Click HERE for original article)

Click HERE for a pdf version of James A. Brady III vs KBR.

This complaint was a very interesting read!! I would like to say I have never heard of this happening before at KBR, but I can’t. Below is a list of the names of all the people listed in this complaint. If you have any information regarding this issue please let us know or get in touch with James Brady’s attorney Jeffrey A. Lovitky.

James A. Brady III (KBR Property Administrator for Northern Iraq)
Patrick Overacker (LOGCAP III Deputy Procurement and Materials Manager)
Samuel Simmons (LOGCAP III Senior Subcontracts Administrator)
Barron Marcee (LOGCAP III Deputy Procurement and Supply Manager)
Remo Butler (Major General, U.S. Army, Retired, LOGCAP III Deputy Theater Program Manager)
Todd Bishop (KBR Director of Government Compliance, KBR Headquarters, Houston, Texas)
Jonathan Langford (KBR Government and Infrastructure Investigator, KBR Headquarters, Arlington, Virginia)
Lionel Scott (H-Sites Materials Manager)
Doug Bellah (KBR Property Administrator)
Mary Culliver (KBR Client Owned Equipment Specialist (COES)
LaTonya Newton (KBR Client Owned Equipment Specialist (COES)
Norman Mabe (KBR H-Sites Generator Manager)
Jerry Phillips (KBR H-Sites Deputy Project Manager for Operations)
Cheryl Lang (KBR Government Property Administrator)
John P. Jones (KBR H-Sites Procurement and Supply Manager)
Ron Parmenter (KBR H-4 Power Generator Mechanic)
Derrick Harper (KBR Materials Department)
Steven Arnold (KBR LOGCAP III Vice-President)
Charles House, (KBR H-Sites Employee Relations Officer)
Jennifer Bryan (U.S. Army CID Agent)
Leroy Hill (KBR LOGCAP III Property Manager)
LTC Richard Fenoli (FOB Commander for H-2 Diamondback & H-4 Marez)

Pentagon persists in patronizing perps & other news

Posted on: February 20th, 2011 at 6:28 am — by Forseti

…according to newly available Defense Department data, is that more than half the Pentagon’s total budget obligations for contracting last year were spent without effective competition or with no competition at all. That comes to about $188 billion, according to numbers provided by the Pentagon.
-John Donnelly – Congressional Quarterly

Kuwait’s Agility to manage warehouse for U. S. for 6-months more

Agility to manage warehouse services until Aug 31

Estimated revenues of $19 mln

Case of overcharging U. S. government ongoing

DUBAI - (Reuters) – February 20, 2011 - Kuwaiti logistics firm Agility will continue to provide services to a U.S. defence agency until August 2011 after winning a six-month contract extension, with estimated revenues of $19 million.

In a statement to the bourse, Agility said the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) had extended its contract for six months, starting March 1, to provide warehouse management services to support operations in the Middle East and Southwest Asia.

The DLA is part of the U. S. Department of Defence and provides logistics support to military services and to several civilian agencies and foreign countries, its website says. Agility has been embroiled in a long-standing legal dispute with the U.S. government after a criminal case was filed in November 2009 when prosecutors accused it, formerly Public Warehousing Co K.S.C., of overcharging. (Click HERE for article)

Government Controller Arrested for Embezzlement
WASHINGTON – /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – February 18, 2011 – Michael E. Hase, 62, was arrested in Dulles, Virginia yesterday by Federal agents of the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Hase was arrested on an embezzlement charge stemming from his work as a controller for USAID, announced Ike Hendershot, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations.

(Read the rest of the story here…)