Yay, Democracy!
It’s heartening to know that, when we bring Democracy to Iraq, we’re bringing the whole package.
As part of a plea agreement, “Robert J. Stein Jr., 50, a Dept. of Defense contract employee,” is dishing the dirt. From McGraw Hill Construction‘s piece by the tantalizingly bylined Tom Sawyer:
According the plea documents, Stein and his co-conspirators accepted high bids known to be from fictitious companies submitted by the contractor to ensure that he won the work. They structured deals into awards of less than $500,000 to avoid exceeding Stein’s contracting authority. And they hid payments as large as $498,000 by using small payment forms with a limit of $15,000 not normally audited by central authorities in Baghdad.
The projects involved the public library in Karbala and the police academy, regional democracy center and demolition of the Baath Party headquarters in Al Hillah. Stein faces up to 30 years in jail and a $250,000 fine.
We love libraries!
– Tom McGeveran
