» 2011 » February Ms Sparky

Robert Wade Prince pleads guilty to assault and interfering with a flight crew

Posted on: February 12th, 2011 at 7:46 am — by Ms Sparky

Robert Wade Prince (taken Sept 2009)

On February 13, 2011 Robert Wade Prince, 49 plead guilty to assault and interfering with a flight crew after he was arrested last year for being disruptive on a Houston-bound Continental Airlines flight.

Just one year ago we told you about Prince, an American working I&E (Instrument & Electrical) construction, commissioning, and start-up overseas and his out of control behavior aboard a flight from Amsterdam. He was on his way back to the States from Jubail, Saudi Arabia where he had been employed by Fluor for approximately six months. He had reportedly accepted a job with Bechtel in Abu Dhabi and was apparently heading back to the States for processing.

According to the original statement from the US States Attorneys Office Prince got very out of control on this flight. (Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in Fluor, GOV. CONTRACTORS, Indictments, Convictions & Arrests, LOGCAP III - KBR, LOGCAP IV - KBR, Miscellaneous. Tags: Arrests, Convictions, Employee Issues-KBR, Fluor*, Robert Wade Prince. 3 Comments »

Open door insert fraud

Posted on: February 10th, 2011 at 5:38 pm — by Forseti

Pentagon Cuts Back Contract Audits, Opens Door for Contractor Overpayments

POGO – February 10, 2011 - Under the guise of eliminating overlap, the Pentagon last month sharply reduced oversight of defense contracts, according to memos obtained by the Project On Government Oversight (POGO).

The changes, which give some of the duties of the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) to the less aggressive Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), were outlined in a January memo signed by Shay Assad, the director of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy. DCAA staff were informed of the changes in a Jan. 31 memo from DCAA Director Patrick Fitzgerald.

“Reducing the role of contract auditing in the procurement process is a huge mistake and will only make it easier for contractors to get away with overcharging the taxpayer,” said Nick Schwellenbach, POGO’s director of investigations. “With these changes, the Pentagon has sided with contractors.”

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Alleged multi-million dollar kickback scheme involving NAVSEA contractor

Posted on: February 9th, 2011 at 10:38 am — by Forseti

Naval Program Manager; Founder and President of Rhode Island and Georgia-Based Technology Firm Charged in $10 Million Kickback Scheme

PROVIDENCE, RI— February 8, 2011 – United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha announced today that a civilian program manager and senior systems engineer with the United States Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in Newport, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C., and the founder and president of a technology services company with offices in Rhode Island and Georgia, have been charged in U.S. District Court in Providence with bribery of a public official in connection with an alleged ongoing kickback scheme involving approximately $10 million of naval funds.

Criminal complaints and supporting affidavits unsealed in U.S. District Court in Providence allege that Ralph Mariano, 52, of Arlington, Virginia, a civilian program manager and senior systems engineer with NAVSEA; and Anjan Dutta-Gupta, 58, of Roswell, Georgia, founder and president of Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow (ASFT), with offices in Middletown, Rhode Island and Roswell, Georgia, participated in a kickback and bribery scheme in which Dutta-Gupta funneled approximately $10 million to Mariano, Mariano’s relatives, and Mariano’s associates in return for Mariano’s role in the funding of Naval contracts to ASFT. According to the affidavit, approximately $13.5 million in funding from the Navy was sent by ASFT to a subcontractor, mostly for work that was not performed. The subcontractor, over a period of years, allegedly kicked back a total of approximately $10 million to Mariano, Mariano’s relatives and associates, and back to entities controlled by Dutta-Gupta.

Dutta-Gupta was arrested on Sunday in Atlanta by U.S. Customs agents and turned over to the FBI as he entered the country on a return trip from Chile. Dutta-Gupta made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Atlanta on Monday and was released on $25,000 unsecured bond and he was ordered to surrender his passport. The defendant was ordered to appear before a Magistrate Judge in U.S. District in Providence on February 15, 2011.

Mariano surrendered to the U.S. Marshals Service in Rhode Island on Monday and made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Providence Monday afternoon before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Lincoln D. Almond. Mariano was released on $50,000 unsecured bond and he was ordered to surrender his passport.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in Civilian Contractors, GOV. CONTRACTORS, Indictments, Convictions & Arrests, Reports & Investigations. Tags: Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow (ASFT), Anjan Dutta-Gupta, FBI, Indictments, NAVSEA, Ralph Mariano. 1 Comment »

Sabre Defence Industries indicted in Arms Trafficking Scheme

Posted on: February 8th, 2011 at 2:55 pm — by Forseti

Five Individuals and One Tennessee Company Charged with Conspiracy to Violate Arms Export Control Act and Related Offenses in International Arms Trafficking Scheme

Photo from Sabre Defence Industries Website

WASHINGTON – February 8, 2011 – Five individuals and a Nashville, Tenn., firearms manufacturer have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges relating to international firearms and trafficking violations of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Jerry E. Martin for the Middle District of Tennessee; Special Agent in Charge Glenn N. Anderson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Nashville Field Division; and Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer Jr. for Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) New Orleans Office.

The defendants named in the 21-count indictment unsealed today are Guy Savage, 42, a citizen of the United Kingdom; Sabre Defence Industries LLC (SDI-US), a Nashville-based arms manufacturer owned by Savage; Charles Shearon, 55, of Ashland City, Tenn., and president of SDI-US; Elmer Hill, 64, of Brentwood, Tenn., and chief financial officer of SDI-US; Michael Curlett, 44, of Hermitage, Tenn., and director of sales for SDI-US; and Arnold See Jr., 54, of Antioch, Tenn., who is the international shipping and purchasing manager of SDI-US. According to the indictment, the defendants were part of a conspiracy to illegally import and export regulated firearms and firearm components and technology to and from the United States. The indictment alleges that Savage directed the illegal activities from his personal residences in the United Kingdom, as well as from a related company owned by Savage, Sabre Defence Industries LTD (SDI-UK), which is a licensed manufacturer, distributor and importer of firearms and firearms headquartered in the United Kingdom.

“The indictment unsealed today alleges a nearly decade-long scheme to thwart U.S. import/export restrictions on firearms and their components,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “The defendants allegedly went to great lengths to conceal their activities and evade U.S. laws – mislabeling packages, falsifying shipping records, and maintaining a fictitious set of books and records, among other things. The illegal trade of firearms and their components poses serious risks and, as this case shows, we cannot and will not tolerate it.”

“The investigation and indictment are an excellent example of how the United States Attorney’s Office, the Criminal Division, HSI, ATF and international law enforcement agencies are working together to prevent firearms and firearm components from being diverted to locations around the world,” said U.S. Attorney Martin. “We recognize the role that weapons play in a sometimes violent world and we will vigorously enforce the laws to prevent the illegal importation of firearms and firearm components.”

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in GOV. CONTRACTORS, Indictments, Convictions & Arrests, Reports & Investigations. Tags: Arms Export Control Act, Arnold See Jr., ATF, Charles Shearon, Elmer Hill, Guy Savage, International Arms Trafficking, Michael Curlett, Reports & Investigations, Sabre Defence Industries. No Comments »

Trafficking in Persons, DoD, DoS & DoJ – start by cleaning up your own backyard!

Posted on: February 7th, 2011 at 8:52 am — by Ms Sparky

U.S. boosts anti-trafficking campaign

WASHINGTON – (UPI) – February 2, 2011 - U.S. agencies are launching a coordinated campaign against human trafficking, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says.

Joining other Cabinet members in an inter-agency task force Tuesday, Clinton called for “ending the practice of punishing the victims of human trafficking. For all the millions who are held in servitude, fewer than 50,000 have been officially identified as victims. Too many others are either ignored, or even worse, treated as criminals.”

Clinton said some nations will be downgraded in the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report and the United States is being included for the first time. She said foreign diplomats will be briefed on their obligations to their domestic workers and a code of conduct is being drafted for private security contractors.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said new regulations will strengthen protection for farm workers.

“We reject the proposition that it is acceptable to pursue economic gain through force, fraud, and coercion of human beings,” she said.

Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department “has prosecuted more human trafficking cases than ever before.”

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said border authorities also have stepped up enforcement. (Click HERE for article)

Department of Justice Announces Launch of Human Trafficking Enhanced Enforcement Initiative

WASHINGTON – February 2, 2011 – The Departments of Justice, Homeland Security and Labor announced today the launch of a nationwide Human Trafficking Enhanced Enforcement Initiative designed to streamline federal criminal investigations and prosecutions of human trafficking offenses.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Profit before patriotism and other news

Posted on: February 6th, 2011 at 8:02 am — by Forseti

As you read this week’s update and look at all the fraud, waste and abuse of our country’s resources going to corrupt corporations unabated. Think about the pentagon leadership who have jumped in bed with these criminals to secure their piece of the American Dream by landing a lucrative gig, after they hang up their uniforms.

What about the soldiers who have been injured, maimed or killed. Did faulty armor, defective weapons, substandard workmanship or shear arrogance and greed play a factor? Then take a few moments to read the first article about the soldier whose life has been shattered, then ask yourself, how many more Diana Clark’s are out there?

Why are we sacrificing our soldiers and protecting criminals, when did this become the American way?
~Forseti

20-year servicewoman, disabled by war, faces ruin
Carl Prine – PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW – February 6, 2011 – PORTLAND, Ore. — Aggravating a combat training injury, Sgt. 1st Class Diana Clark’s back and neck gave out in Iraq in 2006. The soldier’s heavy armor slowly tore apart discs and muscles, just as the images of Mosul’s dead swaddled in linen wore down her mind.

But she didn’t return from war until an automobile accident sent her husband into a fatal coma. With his income now gone and her injuries barring a return to her civilian boilermaker job, Clark is stuck with a house she can’t afford to fix or sell in a collapsed market.

“Over three months, my life turned upside down and I couldn’t turn it right side up,” said Clark, 55, who also worked at a strip mine when she wasn’t doing duty in the Navy, Army Reserves and National Guard.

Her kitchen’s electrical wiring is shot, so she heats dinner noodles in the flickering light of a piano lamp. During the day, the “weekend warrior” with nearly two decades of military service counts spare parts in an armory tool room.

Clark has been in the Army’s Warrior Transition program for 3 1/2 years, first at Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Seattle, then at her Oregon home, part of a special initiative for Reservists and National Guard troops called the “Community Based Warrior Transition Unit.” (Click HERE for article)

Sentencing Delayed In KBR FCPA Case
Aarti Maharaj – February 4, 2011 – In September 2008, the engineering and construction company’s ex-boss pleaded guilty to a two-count criminal information charge for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, the DoJ said.

The SEC complaint alleges that Stanley admitted to his wrongdoings and from 1995 to 2004 he assisted a joint venture, TSKJ, made up of KBR and its three partners, to siphon at least $180 million in bribes to Nigerian government officials.

As a result, the joint venture won contracts worth $6 billion, which was used in the construction of natural gas operations in Nigeria.

‘Stanley was sentenced to 84 months in prison and a restitution paymentof $10.8 million. The jail term is subject to review based on his cooperation,’ says Rick Cassin, a lawyer and FCPA expert.

‘For anyone keeping score, Stanley’s sentencing was first set for November 2008. It then slipped consecutively to May, August, and October 2009, then to February, May and September 2010, on to January 2011, and now to March 30.’ (Click HERE for article)

Former employee alleges contractor selling faulty grenades to U.S. Army
Alan M. Cohn – Scripps Howard News Service – February 4, 2011 - A major supplier to the U.S. military provided defective grenades to the Army, according to a company whistleblower.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Smuggled Contract Laborers in Afghanistan: The Tip of the Iceberg (POGO)

Posted on: February 5th, 2011 at 8:43 am — by Ms Sparky

Photo from POGO via Afghanistan Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation

Neil Gordon – POGO – February 4, 2011 – The Washington Examiner obtained an investigative report that uncovered instances of foreign workers without proper security clearances or identification being smuggled onto U.S. and NATO bases in Afghanistan. According to an April 2010 report by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan, two federal contractors, Stallion Construction and Engineering and DynCorp International, violated security procedures at Kandahar Airfield by escorting undocumented foreign laborers onto the base. Illegal labor practices ranging from contract worker smuggling to human trafficking persist in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thousands of nationals from impoverished countries are lured by the promise of good jobs, but sometimes end up victims of scams that leave them virtual slaves with no way to return home or seek legal recourse. Or, as ISAF documented, they may gain unauthorized access to sensitive war zone locations. In Afghanistan, according to the Examiner’s description of the ISAF report, prospective workers fly into the country, where they are met by “unscrupulous subcontractors” who help them bypass security measures to enter U.S. and NATO bases and work for companies like Stallion and DynCorp. According to the Examiner, the report identified only a small number of what could be hundreds of undocumented employees at Kandahar Airfield, where more than 20,000 U.S. and NATO personnel are stationed.

“This report is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg,” an unnamed U.S. official told the Examiner. “The military police report is only one example of what has been going on for some time at the major bases across the country. This is a serious security issue and human rights issue as well.” (Read the rest of the story here…)