» Najlaa Ms Sparky

David Isenberg: Now Will You Do Something?

Posted on: November 19th, 2011 at 6:55 am — by Forseti

Najlaa CEO Bill Baisey aka Fathalla Belbaisi (photo from Facebook)

David Isenberg – (Huffington Post) – November 18, 2011 – Normally, I’m not one to go around saying “I told you so,” but (you knew a “but” was coming) I can’t help but point you to Document 172 (Sentencing Memo) of Case 5:09-cr-00154-VEH -PWG, United States of America v. Eddie Presley, and Eurica Pressley, defendants filed on November 13 in the U.S. District Court for Northern Alabama, Northeastern Division.

This document has to do with the now infamous Eddie Pressley fraud case. For those unfamiliar with this the bottom line is that as an Army officer assigned to the Kuwait contracting office, Pressley was responsible for soliciting and reviewing bids for contracts for goods and services for Department of Defense (“DoD”) necessary to support Operation Iraqi Freedom, arranging for contracts to be awarded to DoD contractors, and arranging for calls to be issued under blanket purchase agreements awarded to such contractors.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Former U.S. Army Major Eddie Pressley will be sentenced today (Updated)

Posted on: November 16th, 2011 at 3:36 am — by Forseti

: Photo – Michael Mercier/The Huntsville Times

Eddie and Eurica Pressley’s sentencing has been delayed until Jan. 5, 2012

Pressley’s role adjustment is fully supported by the record. As for the number of individuals involved, the evidence at trial showed that the criminal activity involved Eddie Pressley, Eurica Pressley, John Cockerham, James Momon, Christopher Murray, Terry Hall, Bill Baisey (KBR and USAID subcontractor), Gopal Nair, Shaher Fawzi Audah, Finbar Charles, and Dorothy Ellis.

See, e.g., Document No. 145 at 15-16 (Court’s order upholding sufficiency of evidence supporting conspiracy charges, among others). ~Sentencing Memorandum PDF

Sentencing delayed for Harvest man convicted of bribery

“Everything Eddie Pressley has worked for his whole life is in ruins,” according to a sentencing memorandum filed by Rasmussen on Tuesday. “The government is seeking more than his ruination. They are in essence seeking the annihilation of his future, based on a small, if bad, part of his past, without consideration of the value he has provided to the Army during the rest of his 15 years service, or to his family and community during his whole life.”

“This court is urged to render a sentence that recognizes the whole of the defendant’s past, and that gives a future,” according to the memorandum filed by Rasmussen. ~The Birmingham News

BIRMINGHAM, AL (WAFF) – November 16, 2011 – A federal judge delayed the sentencing for a Harvest man convicted of masterminding a multimillion dollar bribery scheme during the war on terror.

Eddie Pressley went before a federal judge in Birmingham Wednesday morning for his scheduled sentencing hearing.

Pressley’s attorneys asked for more time to respond to the government’s sentencing memorandum that asks for him to be sentenced to life in prison.

Pressley’s sentencing hearing is now set for January fifth.

The case centered on allegations that Eddie Pressley, while serving as a contract specialist in Kuwait from October 2004 to October 2005, conspired with another Army major to direct work to certain contractors in exchange for bribes.

Pressley and his wife were convicted of receiving $2.8 million in bribes. (Click HERE for original article)

Prosecutors seek life imprisonment for Army major in bribery scheme
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – November 16, 2011 – Prosecutors are asking a federal judge in Birmingham to send a former Army major to prison for life for his conviction on charges of masterminding a multimillion dollar bribery scheme during the war on terror.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Emerson Hopkins scheduled a sentencing hearing for Wednesday for former Army officer Eddie Pressley of Harvest.

Pressley and his wife Eurica were convicted in March on charges of taking almost $3 million in bribes from a civilian contractor in exchange for $9.3 million in Pentagon contracts. Those included deals for bottled water and security fencing in Iraq and Kuwait.

The contractor, from Georgia, pleaded guilty.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in GOV. CONTRACTORS, Indictments, Convictions & Arrests, U.S. Army. Tags: Bill Baisey, Camp Arifjan, Christopher Murray, Dorothy Ellis, Eddie Pressley, Eurica Pressley, Finbar Charles, Gopal Nair, James Momon, John Cockerham, Najlaa, Najlaa International Catering Services, NICS, Shaher Fawzi Audah, Terry Hall. 14 Comments »

Poor Contracting Oversight Supports Human Trafficking; Erodes U.S. “Moral Standing”

Posted on: November 2nd, 2011 at 1:31 pm — by Ms Sparky

Dana Liebelson – (POGO) – November 2, 2011 – U.S. taxpayers are inadvertently funding human trafficking and worker abuse because of the federal government’s poor oversight of contractors in war zones, POGO Director of Investigations Nick Schwellenbach told a Congressional panel today.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Hearing: Are Government Contractors Exploiting Workers Overseas? or Does the end justify the means? (updated 11-2-2011)

Posted on: October 31st, 2011 at 2:33 am — by Ms Sparky

Stack of "Get Away Guest House of Pattaya" business cards with former KBR manager Donald Vannoy's name on them

Witnesses
Panel I
Ms. Liana Wyler, Senior Analyst Congressional Research Service
Mr. David Isenberg, Independent Analyst and Writer
Mr. Nick Schwellenbach, Director of Investigations, Project on Government Oversight
Mr. Sam W. McCahon, Founder McCahon Law

Panel II
The Honorable Kenneth P. Moorefield, Deputy Inspector General for Special Plans & Operations U.S. Department of Defense
Mr. Michael P. Howard, Chief Operation Officer Army and Air Force Exchange Service
Ms. Evelyn R. Klemstine, Assistant Inspector General for Audits U.S. Department of State
Ms. Linda Dixon, Combating Trafficking in Persons Program Manager, U.S. Department of Defense

On Wednesday November 2, 2011 at 10:00 AM EDT, the Subcommittee on Technology, Intergovernment Relations and Procurement Reform will hold a hearing on US Government contractors who exploit foreign national workers at US facilities overseas. I hope Congress doesn’t think human trafficking is a new issue. I’ve been blogging about the exploitation of foreign national workers in Iraq and Afghanistan since I started this blog nearly four years ago.

The Trafficking in Persons (TIPs) of workers is a clear violation of the FAR and DFARS and therefore a violation of US law and many international laws as well . Yet, this most egregious crime against humanity goes mostly unchecked by many Defense Department, State Department and USAID contractors and their subcontractors. Why is that? Does the US Government feel the end justifies the means?

The US Government, in all their infinite wisdom (sarcasm), have adopted the philosophy it is more cost effective to award contracts to those who hire labor brokers to fill most labor positions in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan. These labor brokers in turn go to destitute third world countries such as India, Nepal, Uganda and The Philippines to hire tens of thousands of both male and female workers. The recruits are promised the moon and charged a hefty recruiting fee for this “once in a lifetime” opportunity. Many recruits are blatantly lied to and have no idea they are heading to a war zone. Many know they are going to a war zone but end up in over crowded, unsanitary living conditions with far less pay than what they were promised. Some of these conditions are experienced on US Military installations, some in staging facilities outside the “wire” with little protection from the insurgency. (Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in GOV. CONTRACTORS, LOGCAP III - KBR, LOGCAP-Dyncorp, LOGCAP-Fluor, Security Contractors, Senate & House Committee Hearings, Trafficking In Persons (TIP) Violations. Tags: Bruce Chirinko, David Isenberg*, DFARS, Donald Vannoy, DynCorp*, Evelyn R. Klemstine, FAR, Fluor*, FOB Meterlahm, FOB Ripley, FOB Sharana, House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform, Human Trafficking, IADCO*, John Reddy, KBR, Kenneth P. Moorefield, Liana Wyler, Linda Dixon, Michael P. Howard, Michael Peck, Mike Land, Najlaa, Najlaa International Catering Services, Nick Schwellenbach, Rep. Blake Farenthold, Rep. Christopher Murphy, Rep. Gerald Connolly, Rep. James Lankford, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Rep. Mike Kelly, Rep. Pat Meehan, Rep. Raul Labrador, Rep. Stephen Lynch, Rep. Tim Walberg, Sam W. McCahon, Sex Tourism, TIPs, Trafficking In Persons. 10 Comments »

A Tip for Dealing with TIPS

Posted on: August 19th, 2011 at 10:45 am — by Ms Sparky

And yet, another excellent article by David Isenberg covering human trafficking violations and USG contractors. A topic which gets a lot of lip service from the DoD, DoS and let’s not forget the DoJ, but very little action when it comes to enforcing the “Zero Tolerance Policy” of FAR, DFAR or other applicable U.S. laws. I’ve done several posts on contractors who condone human trafficking, or just look the other way when it’s brought to their attention. Meanwhile their managers are not only committing TIPs violations by owning brothels, but exasperate the situation by enticing, encouraging, or threatening, their co-workers and direct reports to patronize their establishments and participate in this illegal activity. For shame…..for shame! ~ Ms Sparky

By David Isenberg – (PMSC Observer) – July 12, 2011 – Okay, I admit I have already written about this two times previously, but, once more into the breech, dear friends, once more. So again let’s discuss exploiting labor, as in trafficking in persons. And not just because of my past report on Najlaa International Catering Services on the subject.

This issue affects more than logistics contractors. For example, the Justice Department announced on July 7, that ArmorGroup North America Inc. (AGNA) and its affiliates have paid the United States $7.5 million to resolve allegations that AGNA submitted false claims for payment on a State Department contract to provide armed guard services at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, the Justice Department announced today. The settlement resolves U.S. claims that in 2007 and 2008, AGNA guards violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) by visiting brothels in Kabul, and that AGNA’s management knew about the guards’ activities. (Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in GOV. CONTRACTORS, Iraq Human Trafficking, LOGCAP III - KBR, Reports & Investigations, Security Contractors, Trafficking In Persons (TIP) Violations. Tags: ArmorGroup, David Isenberg*, DFAR, DoJ*, DynCorp*, FAR, Human Trafficking, International Stability Operations Association, Najlaa, Sex Tourism, Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). No Comments »

The Najlaa (NICS) Chronicles

Posted on: August 17th, 2011 at 12:17 pm — by Ms Sparky

David Isenberg, investigator, blogger, writer and author of Shadow Force: Private Security Contractors in Iraq

David Isenberg has more than 20 years experience analyzing U.S. defense, foreign policy, national and international security issues. He is a published author and has appeared on television and radio. He has a BA in International Studies and an MA in International Affairs. He has testified before Congress and lectured to the military. His area of expertise is U.S. military force structure, defense budgeting, WMD proliferation, terrorism, homeland security, counterdrug, peace operations, intelligence policy, international arms trade, small arms proliferation, operations other than war, information warfare, private military contractors, biological weapons, and general arms control.

David recently investigated, co-wrote and published an article called the “Najlaa Episode Revisited” at the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) website. During the course of his investigation, David uncovered many other issues regarding Najlaa and their defense contracts, one I just recently published entitled “You Want Chickenpox With That?“. In an attempt to publicize these wrong doing, many of which put our soldiers and civilians at risk, David has continued to investigate and publish article on Najlaa and so many other defense issues at his blog The PMCS Observer. David stays well informed on Defense Department issues and writes about them regularly. I highly recommend you register at David’s site and stay informed.

Below are some recent articles and documents David published about Najlaa and KBR from information uncovered during his investigations.

The KBR – NICS Documentation: Part 1

by David Isenberg

Last month a report I co-wrote, “The Najlaa Episode Revisited” was published by the Project on Government Oversight. The report detailed various labor trafficking violations by a KBR subcontractor, Najlaa International Catering Services (NICS).

A subsequent report I wrote, “Subcontracting Substandard Services: Military Contracts in Iraq Still Controversial” published by CorpWatch, detailed how NICS did not pay an Iraqi contractor for work that it did by building a housing camp for Najlaa workers. (Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in GOV. CONTRACTORS, KBR Contract, LOGCAP III - KBR, LOGCAP IV - KBR, Media Coverage, Reports & Investigations, Trafficking In Persons (TIP) Violations. Tags: David Isenberg*, KBR, LOGCAP III, Najlaa, Najlaa International Catering Services, NICS. No Comments »

You Want Chicken Pox With That? by David Isenberg

Posted on: August 8th, 2011 at 11:00 am — by Ms Sparky

David Isenberg – (Huffington Post) – August 8, 2011 – Historically, militaries have suffered as many casualties from infectious diseases as from actual combat, if not more. The U.S. military understands this quite well, which is why it has considerable in-house commands devoted to health issues.

Yet in 2008 the same political ideology of outsourcing and privatization of military logistics functions that has made a household name of Halliburton nearly caused harm to American troops, thanks to a KBR subcontractor. U.S. troops in Iraq unknowingly came close to being exposed to the varicella-zoster virus, a member of the herpes virus family. That virus is what we commonly call chicken pox. The same virus also causes herpes zoster (shingles) in adults.

While the issue of private military contractors (PMC) has received increased public and governmental attention since the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the oversight and accountability of them has mostly occurred at the level of the prime contractor. When it comes to the subcontractors supporting them, it is still very much like what Winston Churchill said about Russia, that it is “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.”

(Read the rest of the story here…)