WaPo: Official Accused of Rigging Iraq Contracts

[Penndems]

By Charles R. Babcock and Renae Merle
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, November 18, 2005; Page A01

A U.S. official working in Iraq accepted $546,000 in illegal payments for steering more than $13 million in contracts last year to an American businessman, the Justice Department alleged in the first criminal corruption case arising from Iraq reconstruction.

Robert J. Stein Jr., who worked for the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, and Philip H. Bloom, who ran several companies from a base in Romania, were arrested earlier this week on the basis of criminal complaints citing fraud, money-laundering and conspiracy charges. The allegations were outlined in affidavits unsealed in federal court.

The rebuilding of Iraq has been controversial since the start. More than $20 billion in U.S. funds have been set aside for the work. Some members of Congress have challenged no-bid contracts awarded to companies such as Halliburton Corp., while federal auditors have found that the CPA was lax in overseeing billions of dollars in Iraqi funds from the sales of oil and cash transferred from the United Nations.

"There's more to come" in the way of criminal charges, Ginger Cruz, the deputy special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, said in an interview yesterday. Stein and Bloom have not been indicted by a grand jury, and Cruz said the investigation is continuing. She said her office is looking into 50 other potential criminal cases on the spending of U.S. and Iraqi funds in the war zone.

More here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/17/AR2005111701879.html
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One can only hope they'll find out where that $13 million went under former Ambassador Paul Bremer's watch. :mad:

[rodeodance]

1. lets get the popcorn!!11

[shanti]

4. got it

how about a pizza too? what's done in the dark, ALWAYS comes to the light!

shadenfreude, don't ya love it?

[Penndems]

5. Got mine all ready! :)

:popcorn: :beer:

[bullimiami]

2. who is this guy they they are making an example of?

democrat sympathizer? bush critic? just a nobody they can sacrifice?

seems suspicious. why this guy, why now?

[Penndems]

7. "Steiney, you're doing a heck of job!"

He's a convicted felon put in charge of Iraq reconstruction funds by the Bush Administration. :mad:

<snip>

"Stein pleaded guilty in 1996 to federal fraud charges and was sentenced to eight months of prison and required to make restitution of $45,000 to a financial institution. A footnote in the affidavit said that a $200 payment from Bloom in January 2004 was routed to a federal court clerk in North Carolina for part of that restitution."

<snip>

[Demeter]

3. Hope HE Donated to the GOP

That would be yet another avenue to investigate, and one more nail in the GOP coffin.

[CanOfWhoopAss]

6. Ohhhh boy Ohhhhh boy

:popcorn: :beer: