http://news.tbo.com/news/metro/MGB8UK9S9XE.html
Ex-Socom Contractor Says Agent Threatened Family Skip directly to the full story. By RICHARD LARDNER The Tampa Tribune Published: Jan 23, 2007 TAMPA - A former defense contractor testified in federal court Monday that he pleaded guilty to a bribery charge after a U.S. law enforcement agent threatened his family and convinced him he had no other legal options. But a federal prosecutor challenged William E. Burke's version of events, contending he was not coerced into admitting he accepted payments in exchange for preferential treatment. "You're not a dumb person," Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill said to Burke. "You know what the word 'guilty' means, do you not, sir?" Burke said he was overwhelmed and confused after a May 2005 meeting with federal authorities, including Robert Calvert, then an agent with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. Burke said he did not know the exact purpose of the meeting and did not have an attorney. Calvert quickly became accusatory, said Burke, who also said the agent told him he'd become a pawn in an illegal scheme engineered by retired Army Col. Tom Spellissy. Burke said at one point Calvert said: "Words to the effect of, 'We know where you live, and we know where your family lives.' It was very threatening." Burke Says He Felt Intimidated A retired Army lieutenant colonel, Burke said he didn't think he'd committed a crime, but he was intimidated by the pressure applied by Calvert and others. "Whatever they said to me, it had to be true," he said. O'Neill asked Burke whether he told anyone about the threat by Calvert. Burke said he told the lawyer he later hired, but no one else. "So you're life is threatened and you didn't go to anybody?" said O'Neill, who noted there was no transcript or recording of the meeting. "Why didn't you come to me?" Burke, once assigned to U.S. Special Operations Command, is on trial for making a false statement to the court, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail and $250,000 in fines. O'Neill said Burke made "irreconcilably contradictory" statements when he pleaded guilty to bribery in October 2005 and then changed his story during the conspiracy trial of Spellissy in May. Burke's current attorney, Daniel Hernandez, acknowledged the disparity, but said his client made each statement "believing each was true at the time." Burke received three years of probation for accepting $4,500 in return for steering government contracts to clients of a defense consulting business Spellissy had started. As part of his plea agreement, Burke agreed to testify against Spellissy. But during the trial Burke said he and Spellissy broke no laws. Jury Deliberation Could Begin Today Burke's reversal ultimately undermined the prosecution's case against Spellissy, who ran one of the command's most important acquisition offices before retiring from the military Jan. 1, 2005. Burke said he received money from Spellissy but that the payments were for legitimate moonlighting work. The jury didn't buy his story, finding Spellissy guilty of conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud. But U.S. District Judge James Whittemore overturned the bribery conviction and ordered a new trial on the wire fraud charges. Whittemore, who said the prosecution's case was weak without Burke's testimony, let the conspiracy conviction stand. In August, he sentenced Spellissy to 15 months in prison and fined him $125,000. Spellissy has appealed the conspiracy conviction. Jurors are expected to begin deliberating the false statement charge against Burke today. 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