Government Contracts Monitor
ShortTake: Bold Blatant Bribery
February 9, 2015
By: Lindsay Simmons
The Justice Department has announced that a 44 year old retired Army Sergeant Major working as a civilian contracting official for the Army, James Warner, was arrested on January 28th for allegedly soliciting bribes from company executives. DOJ Press Release.
According to the affidavit filed by the government in support of the criminal complaint, Warner met with executives of Company A, a company holding a five-year $120 million contract with the Army, at a restaurant in the Pentagon Centre. Warner passed a menu to the executives in which he had placed a piece of paper soliciting a bribe: if Company A paid Warner $500,000 its contract would be renewed and any negative information about the company would be destroyed. According to the affidavit, the executives turned down Warner’s request, reported the attempted bribe to the government, and cooperated with law enforcement agents by meeting with Warner on four subsequent occasions and paying Warner $50,000 of the $500,000 solicited.
If convicted, Warner faces a penalty of up to (i) 15 years in prison and (ii) $1.5 million in fines.
The court documents may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:15-mj-39.
Lindsay Simmons is responsible for the content of this ShortTake.
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