my favorite part: this guy has a public defender On 11/17/05, Dana <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Issuing Contracts, Ex-Convict Took Bribes in Iraq, U.S. Says > > Sign In to E-Mail This > Printer-Friendly > Single-Page > Reprints > Save Article > By JAMES GLANZ > Published: November 18, 2005 > A North Carolina man who was charged yesterday with accepting > kickbacks and bribes as a comptroller and financial officer for the > American occupation authority in Iraq was hired despite having served > prison time for felony fraud in the 1990's. > > The job gave the man, Robert J. Stein, control over $82 million in > cash earmarked for Iraqi rebuilding projects. > > Along with a web of other conspirators who have not yet been named, > Mr. Stein and his wife received "bribes, kickbacks and gratuities > amounting to at least $200,000 per month" to steer lucrative > construction contracts to companies run by another American, Philip H. > Bloom, an affidavit outlining the criminal complaint says. Mr. Stein's > wife, who was not named, has not been charged with wrongdoing in the > case; Mr. Bloom was charged with a range of crimes on Wednesday. > > In the staccato language of the affidavit, filed in Federal District > Court in the District of Columbia, Mr. Stein, 50, was charged with > wire fraud, conspiracy, interstate transportation of stolen property > and conspiracy to commit money laundering. > > But the list of charges does little justice to the astonishing > brazenness of the accusations described in the complaint, including a > wire transfer of a $140,000 bribe, arranged by Mr. Bloom, to buy real > estate for Mr. Stein in North Carolina. The affidavit also says that > $65,762.63 was spent to buy cars for Mr. Stein and his wife (he bought > a Chevrolet; she a Toyota), $44,471 for home improvements and $48,073 > for jewelry, out of $258,000 sent directly to the Bragg Mutual Federal > Credit Union into accounts controlled by the Steins. > > Mr. Stein's wife even used $7,151.58 of the money for a "towing > service," the complaint says. Much of this money was intended for > Iraqi construction projects like building a new police academy in the > ancient city of Babylon and rehabilitating the library in Karbala, the > southern city that is among the holiest sites for Shiite Muslims. > > After Mr. Stein awarded contracts for this work to Mr. Bloom, who > eventually received at least $3.5 million himself, according to the > complaint, the work often was not performed or was done shoddily, the > prosecutors say. > > Mr. Stein was arrested in North Carolina on Monday, the Justice > Department said in a statement. He appeared in court on Tuesday, > represented by Jane Pearce, an assistant federal public defender in > North Carolina's Eastern District, said Elizabeth Luck, a spokeswoman > for the office. The Eastern District includes Fayetteville, where Mr. > Stein is listed as a homeowner. > > Beyond confirming Mr. Stein's appearance in court, "we do not comment > on pending litigation in this office," Ms. Luck said, adding that she > could not say whether Mr. Stein planned to retain a private lawyer. > > Little is known about Mr. Stein except that he served in the Army and > was convicted in federal court in 1996 for "access device fraud," a > felony. Court papers show he was sentenced to eight months in prison > and ordered to pay $45,339.25 in restitution. > > Mr. Stein's lawyer in that case was Richard B. Glazier, who was > reached by phone at his home in Fayetteville. He could not recall the > details of the case but said: "I recall it being a fairly basic case; > I don't recall there being any substantial publicity with it." > > The affidavit yesterday alleges that on Jan. 22, 2004, Mr. Stein > transferred $200 of money obtained through bribes to the clerk of > United States District Court in North Carolina's Eastern District. > > The payment, the affidavit explains, was an installment on the > restitution payment that Mr. Stein had been ordered to pay on his > earlier felony conviction. > > Mr. Stein worked for the Grundy Marine Construction Company, based in > Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., in 2001 and 2002, said the company's vice > president, Pete Caruk, in a telephone interview. Mr. Stein was fired > when he was found to be falsifying payroll records and making out > false invoices for nonexistent purchases of materials for a > construction job at an Air Force base, Mr. Caruk said. > > The company later found, Mr. Caruk said, that Mr. Stein had also > falsified elements of his résumé, like decorations he claimed to have > won during his military service but had never received. The company > lost about $1.5 million in the overbilling episode, and presented its > case to the authorities, Mr. Caruk said, but Mr. Stein has not been > prosecuted. > > "This guy is a thief," Mr. Caruk said. "He's a con artist and a crook." > > The Pentagon, which had authority over the Coalition Provisional > Authority until it was dissolved in June 2004, said yesterday that it > was receiving numerous press queries on Mr. Stein's background and the > circumstances of his hiring. A spokesman at the Pentagon said the > department was working to fulfill the requests. > > The charges against Mr. Stein and Mr. Bloom have emerged from a > sweeping probe of rebuilding contracts by a task force led by Stuart > W. Bowen Jr., the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, > and including investigators from the criminal investigations division > of the Internal Revenue Service, the immigration and customs > enforcement section of the Department of Homeland Security, and the > State Department's inspector general. > > "The reconstruction of Iraq is, and must be, built on a foundation of > integrity and honest business dealings," said Assistant Attorney > General Alice S. Fisher in a statement. "The Department of Justice > will pursue and prosecute anyone who attempts to exploit this vital > process for their own personal or financial gain." > > Mr. Bowen said he hoped the charges would serve as "a deterrent to > those who may want to abuse the reconstruction effort." > > Ronald Dwight, who worked as a legal adviser in the Iraqi > Transportation Ministry in January and February of 2004, said that > there was a relatively small handful of comptrollers scattered through > the occupation offices in major cities in Iraq. > > "There was only one comptroller in the C.P.A. headquarters in > Baghdad," Mr. Dwight said. "They were pretty powerful guys." > > He said that while many occupation officials had come to Iraq for > legitimately patriotic reasons, it was obvious that others had > different goals. "My impression was that there were a lot of > unscrupulous people pretending to be patriots there who were trying to > get contracts for their friends," Mr. Dwight said. > > Walter Slocombe, an under secretary of defense in the Clinton > administration who served as an adviser in Iraq in 2003, said that the > comptrollers were "people with considerable responsibility, but not > very far up in the hierarchy." > > Although Mr. Slocombe does not recall meeting Mr. Stein, he said that > he did recall visiting the regional office in Hilla where Mr. Stein > worked. Amid the privations and heat of Iraq, the office stood out > vividly for a particularly simple reason, Mr. Slocombe said. "It was > famous for its soft ice-cream machine," he said. > > In the wake of the latest accusations, Mr. Slocombe said, he was > wondering how the ice-cream machine had been paid for. > > > > > http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/18/international/middleeast/18reconstruct.html?hp&ex=1132290000&en=6fb39fe30722695e&ei=5094&partner=homepage > > -- > The most common elements are hydrogen and stupidity - Harlan Ellison >
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