Sex and money bought Iraq contracts

[dogday]

CONTRACTOR in Iraq has pleaded guilty to providing money, sex and designer watches to US officials in exchange for more than $US8 million ($10.8 million) in reconstruction contracts.

Philip Bloom faces up to 40 years in prison after admitting paying more than $US2 million in bribes to US officials with the Coalition Provisional Authority, which ruled Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003.

Bloom's guilty plea on bribery and money-laundering charges is the latest development in a widening corruption scandal centred on a network of US civilians and military officials who worked out of a coalition outpost in the south-central Iraqi town of Hillah.

Under the plea agreement, Bloom must pay $US3.6 million in restitution and forfeit $US3.6 million in assets. His guilty plea "sends a message to Iraqis that US oversight will track down, arrest and prosecute American citizens who committed crimes in Iraq involving Iraqi money", said Stuart Bowen, who heads the office of the Special Inspector-General for Iraq Reconstruction.

also see this post
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=968104&mesg_id=968104

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/sex-and-money-bought-iraq-contracts/2006/04/19/1145344153774.html

[rodeodance]

1. i hope the media reports on this. but Idol, aruba, duke are leading the

way on msnbc today--both with stories and banter

[Ecumenist]

2. Hmmm no why doesn't that surprise me? eom

[Lasher]

3. I want to know what happened to the $1.4 Billion in cash

I'm pleasantly surprised to see this accounting. Robert Stein, who looks like the main bribee in the Philip Bloom case, pled guilty in February. Stein controlled $US82 million in reconstruction funds, even though he had previously been convicted for fraud. Guess he must have passed the standard DHS background check.

Two US Army Reserve officers have been arrested, with more arrests expected. Good.

This dirty little episode is just another nail in the coffin of the GOP Culture of Corruption. And the story is actually being covered by the corporate news media. Here's an article the NYT published yesterday, when most of the stories came out:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/19/world/middleeast/19contract.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. The main incident I want to see exposed is, what happened to the $1.5 billion in cash:

Money also disappeared in truckloads and by helicopter. The CPA reportedly distributed funds to contractors in bags off the back of a truck. In one notorious incident in April 2004, $1.5 billion in cash that had just been delivered by three Blackhawk helicopters was handed over to a courier in Erbil, in the Kurdish region, never to be seen again. Afterward, no one was able to recall the courier’s name or provide a good description of him.

http://www.amconmag.com/2005/2005_10_24/cover.html

[dogday]

4. I hear that, I would like to know

as well... Isn't there also 8 billion unaccounted for as well????

[Lasher]

6. I'm sure you must be thinking of the $8.8B total

That's the total that we know of so far that just went missing while the CPA was in control. The 1.4B that I mentioned, which weighed 14 tons, was part of this total.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/file_on_4/4216853.stm

Too bad these contractors didn't just hire officials' family members at US locations and pay them enormous salaries for doing nothing. That's a safer form of bribery, and I'm sure it is quite common.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

5. lol! I wonder if Jeff Gannon was part of the bribe! :)