Army Corps of Engineers employee indicted (Kuwait)

[seafan]

Army Corps of Engineers employee indicted

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer
6-9-06


WASHINGTON - A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employee signed off on inflated apartment rental leases for military personnel in Kuwait in exchange for $47,000 in bribes from a real estate agent, according to a federal indictment made public Friday.

Gheevarghese Pappen, 62, was charged with three counts of honest services wire fraud in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Savannah, Ga. He faces up to 60 years in prison and $750,000 in fines, the Justice Department said.

snip

Pappen had been assigned to Camp Arifjan, a U.S. military base about 40 miles south of Kuwait City, where he worked to find apartments for Army employees. On three occasions, Pappen recommended approval of leases only after getting a local real estate agent to agree to bump up the rent and pay Pappen a share of the proceeds, the indictment said.

snip

At that point, real estate agent Fahhad Abdullah Matar acknowledged he had paid bribes and began cooperating with Army investigators, the court papers said.
Matar secretly recorded his meeting with Pappen on March 16 during which they discussed payments for future housing contracts. "Why don't we do 50/50?" Pappen said at one point, according to court papers.

snip

[Amonester]

1. Ain't that kind of 'Free Market' system beautiful, or what?

How many other$ like Mr. Pappen out there?

Will we ever know?

[seafan]

2. We are witnessing the biggest robbery in our country's history.

And it is abhorrent that these criminals are still entrenched in power.

[NYC]

3. I believe we are.

[InkAddict]

4. Guess he forgot to cut in the General

or pay protection up the ladder. OOPS!

[Vidar]

5. No, those pesky generals are getting uppity. Direct Deposit

to Rummy's account is preferred.