[Vision2020] [Spam] Army Probes Wide-Ranging Contractor Fraud

[lfalen]

It is high time that someone took action on the corruption that is going on with contracts in Iraq. We need to support the troops and try and help the people of Iraq.  When funds to help the people of Iraq are siphoned off by by crooks its every one. These people belong in jail.

Roger
-----Original message-----
From: "Tom Hansen" thansen at moscow.com
Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2007 17:23:40 -0800
To: "Vision 2020" vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Spam] [Vision2020] Army Probes Wide-Ranging Contractor Fraud

> >From today's (January 29, 2007) Roundup Edition of the Army Times -
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Army probes wide-ranging contractor fraud
> 
> By John Heilprin - The Associated Press
> Posted Sunday Jan 28, 2007 10:25:39 EST
>    
> WASHINGTON - From high-dollar fraud to conspiracy to bribery and bid
> rigging, Army investigators have opened up to 50 criminal probes involving
> battlefield contractors in the war in Iraq and anti-terrorism efforts, The
> Associated Press has learned.
> 
> Senior contracting officials, government employees, residents of other
> countries and, in some cases, military personnel have been implicated in
> millions of dollars of fraud allegations.
> 
> "All of these involve operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait," Chris
> Grey, a spokesman for the Army Criminal Investigation Command, confirmed
> Saturday to the AP.
> 
> "CID agents will pursue leads and the truth wherever it may take us," Grey
> said. "We take this very seriously."
> 
> Battlefield contractors have been implicated in allegations of fraud and
> abuse since the war in Iraq began in spring 2003. A special inspector
> general office that focused solely on reconstruction spending in Iraq
> developed cases that led to four criminal convictions.
> 
> The problems stem in part from the Pentagon's struggle to get a handle on
> the unprecedented number of contractors now helping run the country's wars.
> Contractors are used in battle zones to do nearly everything but fight. They
> run cafeterias and laundries for troops, move supplies, run communication
> systems and repair weapons systems.
> 
> Special agents from the Army's major procurement fraud unit recently were
> dispatched to Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, where they are "working closely
> and sharing information with other law enforcement agencies in the region,"
> Grey said.
> 
> "Given the billions of dollars in contract dollars that have been and are
> being spent, it is our experience that our agents will detect millions of
> dollars in fraud before we are done," Grey said. "And just as likely, we
> will be instrumental in bringing back to the U.S. government millions of
> dollars in recoveries."
> 
> One case involves an Army chief warrant officer accused of taking a $50,000
> bribe to steer a contract for paper products and plastic flatware away from
> a government contractor and to a Kuwaiti company, according to an indictment
> unsealed Thursday in federal court at Rock Island, Illinois.
> 
> Prosecutors say the officer took the bribe while at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait,
> while he was the Army's food service adviser for Iraq, Afghanistan and
> Kuwait, according to the indictment. The officer is also accused of trying
> to smuggle $40,000 in undeclared cash into the United States on a December
> 2005 flight from Kuwait to Dover, Delaware.
> 
> Other cases involve a government officer manipulating a contract in exchange
> for large bribes, a contractor making false claims against the government
> and an official accepting gratuities. The cases range in type, seriousness
> and complexity and involve contractors both inside and outside the United
> States.
> 
> The Pentagon has viewed outsourcing a wide variety of military tasks as much
> more efficient, leaving troops trained in combat to the business of war.
> 
> But the Government Accountability Office reported in December that the
> military has been losing millions of dollars because it cannot monitor
> industry workers in far-flung locations.
> 
> The Defense Department's inability to manage contractors effectively has
> hurt military operations and unit morale and cost the Pentagon money, the
> GAO said.
> 
> Some 60,000 contractors have been supporting the Army in Southwest Asia,
> which includes Iraq. That compares with 9,200 contractors in the 1991 Gulf
> War.
> 
> Commanders are often unsure how many contractors use their bases and require
> food, housing and protection, according to the report. One Army official
> said the service estimates losing about $43 million each year on free meals
> provided to contractors who also get a food allowance.
> 
> The new Democratic Congress plans to ramp up oversight of the billions of
> dollars being spent in Iraq, including dollars awarded to contractors.
> Democratic Congressman Ike Skelton, the chairman of the House Armed Services
> Committee, has said he plans to target contractor abuse.
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
> 
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
> 
> 
> *****************************************************************
> 
> "Sins can be committed in ignorance, and the fact that they were committed
> in ignorance doesn't cause the sin to just disappear . . . "
> 
> - Princess Sushitushi (September 10, 2006)
> 
> *****************************************************************
> 
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