Cockerham bribery case

The Cockerham bribery case involved the investigation and subsequent trials of United States Army contracting officers and their family members who were accused of accepting bribes in return for steering multi-million dollar contracts to companies providing services for the US Army in Iraq and Kuwait between 2004 and 2007. The alleged ringleader of the accused officers was US Army Major John L. Cockerham, who was sentenced to 17 and 1/2 years in prison for accepting bribes from Army contractors. The tainted contracts, mainly for bottled water, involved at least three US Army contracting officers, two of their family members, six companies from India, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United States, and up to $15 million in bribe money.

Background

Just prior and during the Iraq War, US Army contracting officers were stationed in Kuwait and Iraq and were charged with contracting for services to support the army's operations in theater. Contracts for food, water, shelter, and other living essentials and gravel and chain link fencing were made with numerous US and international companies. By 2007, the US Army had spent $6 billion on support contracts to support operations in Iraq.^[1][2]

In 2006, the US Army's Criminal Investigation Command (CID), the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, and the FBI began investigating reports of irregularities and corruption involved in the contract operations. Included in the probe were the $3 billion in contracts awarded by the army's Kuwait-based contracting office.^[1][2]

Investigation and charges

The probe quickly focused on contracting officer Major Gloria Davis. On December 11, 2006 CID agents questioned Davis at Camp Victory near the Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) about $225,000 discovered in offshore accounts under her name. According to investigators, the money came from bribes paid to Davis by Kuwait-based Lee Dynamics International, a contractor run by a retired US Army soldier named George Lee. That night, after admitting that the money came from bribes, Davis committed suicide.^[3][4]

Following up on leads discovered during the investigation on Davis, investigators's attention was drawn to contracting officer Major John Cockerham. That same month, investigators raided Cockerham's Fort Sam Houston home and discovered a ledger detailing $15 million in kickbacks that the officer expected to receive for steering contracts to certain companies.^[5]

On July 22, 2007, Cockerham and his wife, Melissa were arrested. Three days later, Cockerham's sister, Carolyn Blade was arrested and charged with helping Cockerham collect $3.1 million in bribes. All three were indicted on August 22, 2007 for conspiracy to commit fraud and bribery, conspiracy to obstruct justice and money-laundering conspiracy. The following month investigators recovered $900,000 in bribe money that had been paid to Cockerham.^[5]

Prosecutors stated that Melissa and Blake traveled to Kuwait to collect the bribe money and deposited the money into safety deposit boxes. Later, the money was moved into off-shore bank accounts. As of March 2009, not all of the money had been recovered. Prosecutors stated that it appeared that co-conspirators overseas or other Cockerham relatives in the US were hiding the money.^[5]

In November 2007, retired US Army sergeant Terry Hall of Atlanta, Georgia was arrested and charged with bribing Cockerham. Hall's companies, Allied Arms Co. Ltd owned by Shahir Nabeeh Fawzi Audah, Total Government Allegiance/Freedom Consulting & Catering, and US Eagles Services Corp, were reportedly steered contracts in return for the bribes.^[5] Hall pleaded guilty on February 17, 2010 to multiple counts of bribery, conspiracy, money-laundering and wire fraud. He agreed to forfeit $15.7 million seized by the US government from Hall's offshore accounts. Hall awaits sentencing.^[6]

On 27 May 2011, federal indictments were unsealed against American bussinessmen George H. Lee, and his son, Justin W. Lee of Lee Dynamics International. The two were charged with bribing US Army contracting officers, probably including Davis and Cockerham, with airline tickets, spa vacations and more than $1 million in cash to secure contracts. Justin Lee is in custody but George Lee remains at large. In addition, the US federal government blocked 120 other individuals and/or their companies from entering into contracts with the US government.^[7]

Convictions

On February 1, 2008 John Cockerham plead guilty to bribery, money laundering and conspiracy to commit bribery and Melissa Cockerham plead guilty to money laundering.^[5] On December 2, 2009 John Cockerham was sentenced to 17½ years in prison and fined $9.6 million, the total amount that he had reportedly received from bribes.^[3]

In August 2008, as a result of a related investigation, Army Major James Momon, 37, plead guilty to taking $5.8 million in bribes, of which he kept $1.6 million with the rest going to Cockerham. Melissa's sister, Carolyn Blake, pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy on March 18, 2009. Blake admitted she expected to keep 10 percent of the money she collected.^[5][8] Another colleague of Cockerham's, former US Army Major Christopher H. Murray, 41, pleaded guilty to receiving $245,000 in kickbacks from Kuwait contracts. As of December 2009, Momon and Murray await sentencing.^[4]

Government documents showed that in addition to Hall's companies, other contractors involved included Dewa Projects Private Ltd from India, Lee Dynamics International from Saudi Arabia, and Kamal Mustafa Al-Sultan Co (KMS) of Kuwait.^[5]

As part of the investigation into Cockerham, federal investigators have begun a probe of retired Army Colonel Anthony B. Bell. Bell ran the Army's contracting office in Baghdad during the early stages of the Iraq War.^[9] Another Cockerham colleague, former US Army Major Eddie Pressley, 39, was charged with accepting $2.8 million in bribes at Camp Arifjan.^[4]

In a related case, in December 2009, former DoD civilian employee Tijani Ahmed Saani, 53, was sentenced to nine years in prison and ordered to pay a $1.6 million fine and $816,485 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for accepting bribes and tax evasion. Saani had worked with Cockerham at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait in 2004 and 2005. Saani admitted that he could not explain how he earned $3.6 million in income during that time. Saani had deposited the money in bank accounts in in Ghana, Switzerland, the Jersey Channel Islands, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.^[4]

In March 2010, retired US Army Colonel Kevin A. Davis agreed to plead guilty to taking more than $50,000 in bribes from George Lee in exchange for helping Lee's company, American Logistics Services, win a contract to operate warehouses for the Army in Iraq. After retiring in 2005, Davis became a senior executive for another company owned by Lee, Lee Dynamics International (LDI). LDI has since been banned from working any contracts with the US government and Lee is under investigation by US prosecutors.^[10]

On 1 March 2011, a federal jury convicted Major Eddie Pressley and his wife, Eurica Gaston Pressley. The two were charged with taking $2.8 million in bribes in the Cockerham case, including $1.5 million from United Arab Emirates-based importer Ohio Foodstuffs Trading.^[2][11]

In a related case, former US Army major Charles J. Bowie Jr pleaded guilty to one count of money-laundering on 11 May 2011.^[12]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Schmitt, Eric, and Ginger Thompson (September 21, 2007). "$6 Billion in Contracts Reviewed, Pentagon Says" (Newspaper article). New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/washington/21contract.html?_r=1. Retrieved March 17, 2009. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Millman, Joel, "Ex-Major And Wife Convicted In Army Bribe Case", Wall Street Journal, 2 March 2011, p. 2.
3. ^ ^{a b} Milman, Joel, "Major Gets 17½ Years In Iraq Contract Case", Wall Street Journal, December 4, 2009, p. 4.
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Contreras, Guillermo, "Contractor Gets 9 Years In Army Bribery Case", San Antonio Express-News, December 12, 2009.
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Contreras, Guillermo (March 15, 2009). "Another plea of guility in Iraq bribes case" (Newspaper article). San Antonio Express-News. http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/Another_plea_of_guility_in_Iraq_brides_case_.html. Retrieved March 17, 2009. 
6. ^ Millman, Joel, "Iraq War Contractor Guilty", Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2010, p. 6.
7. ^ Healy, Jack, "2 Americans Are Indicted In Iraq Contract Bribery", New York Times, 31 May 2011.
8. ^ Tomasko, Catherine (March 26, 2009). "Army Major's Sister Admits Role in $9M Iraq Contract Scam". FindLaw. http://news.findlaw.com/andrews/bf/gov/20090326/20090326_blake.html. Retrieved July 27, 2009. ^{[dead link]}
9. ^ Lardner, Richard, "Iraq fraud inquiry focuses on retired Army col.", Military Times, Sep 9, 2009.
10. ^ Wall Street Journal, "Colonel To Admit Role In Iraq War Corruption", March 23, 2010, p. 8.
11. ^ Millman, Joel, "Jury To Weigh Bribery Case Against Army Major, Wife", Wall Street Journal, 28 February 2011, p. 4.
12. ^ Millman, Joel, "Retired Army Major Pleads Guilty In Corruption Probe", Wall Street Journal, 12 May 2011, p. 2.

Further reading

• Contreras, Guillermo (March 15, 2009). "Another plea of guility in Iraq bribes case" (Newspaper article). San Antonio Express-News. http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/Another_plea_of_guility_in_Iraq_brides_case_.html. Retrieved March 17, 2009. 
• Contreras, Guillermo (July 19, 2009). "Firm tied to Iraq scandal profited" (Newspaper article). San Antonio Express-News. http://www.mysanantonio.com/military/Firm_tied_to_Iraq_scandal_profited.html. Retrieved July 27, 2009. 
• Rich, Frank (October 21, 2007). "Suicide Is Not Painless" (Newspaper editorial). New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/opinion/21rich.html. Retrieved March 17, 2009. 
• United States District Court for the Western District of Texas (August 27, 2007). "United States of America v. 1 John Cockerham, Jr., 2) Melissa Cockerham, 3) Carolyn Blake, A.K.A. Carol Bradshaw, Defendants" (Court document). United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/f225400/225441.htm. Retrieved July 27, 2009. 
• United States District Court for the Western District of Texas (January 31, 2008). "United States of America v. 1) John Cockerham, Jr., Defendant" (Court plea agreement). United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. http://www.assetsearchblog.com/uploads/file/cockerhamplea.pdf. Retrieved July 27, 2009.