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

[Art Deco]

Roger wrote:

"These people belong in jail."


With apologies to my friends who disagree with me about the applicability of 
the death penalty in some cases:

These people belong on the scaffold.  There acts are treason.

W.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "lfalen" <lfalen at turbonet.com>
To: "Tom Hansen" <thansen at moscow.com>; "Vision 2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 12:49 PM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] [Spam] Army Probes Wide-Ranging Contractor Fraud


> 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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