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Appear First) 2
Pentagon Officials Get 24 Years in Fraud
(12/13/03) (Excerpted from the Jerry Markon story in the Washington Post 12/13/03, page B03)
"Two former high-level Pentagon officials were sentenced yesterday to more than 24 years in prison for a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme that prosecutors called the most serious case of defense procurement corruption since the 1980s." [The 1980s 'Operation Ill Wind' resulted in over 60 convictions for corruption in Pentagon purchasing.] "Robert L. Neal Jr. and Francis D. Jones Jr., both 51, will each serve 24 years and four months in prison. Each was also ordered to forfeit $2 million in Rolex watches, homes, automobiles and other ill-gotten gains. "A federal jury in Alexandria convicted the two men in July of charges that they demanded -- and received -- more than $1 million in cash, as well as sexual favors and gifts, in exchange for helping minority-owned companies secure government contracts. ... Prosecutors said the scheme involved accepting gifts, including expensive gold watches and the services of prostitutes that a defense contractor provided the men while Neal and Jones were at a small business conference in the Virgin Islands. "Neal formerly headed the Defense Department's influential Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization ... Jones was his executive assistant. "In an emotional plea for leniency, Neal told U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris: "They just don't get it. The government just doesn't get it . . . For 27 years, I have sacrificed for the federal government in providing assistance to small businesses. I have given up my family life for small business." "Paul J. McNulty, the U.S. attorney in Alexandria, said: 'These defendants were entrusted with a mission to serve disadvantaged people and instead used their positions to serve themselves. This case involved a despicable breach of trust' "Neal headed his Defense Department office from 1996 to 2001. He was appointed to the post by President Bill Clinton. "... Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew W. Friedrich ... told the court that the penalty should be severe. 'These defendants victimized the very minority contracting firms whose interests they were supposed to protect,' he said." Last known link to the complete Wash Post story: Ex-Pentagon Officials Sentenced in
Fraud (12/12/03) (Excerpted from the Justin Bergman Associated Press story as it appeared in Newsday 12/12/03) "ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Two former top Pentagon officials each were sentenced Friday to 24 1/3 years in prison for taking more than $1 million in bribes and accepting prostitutes from government contractors. "Robert Lee Neal Jr., 51, and Francis Delano Jones Jr., 51, also were ordered to jointly pay $1.75 million in restitution. The Maryland men were convicted in U.S. District Court in July of conspiracy, extortion, money laundering, witness tampering and obstruction of justice. "Neal was appointed by President Clinton in 1996 to serve as director of the Pentagon's office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (SADBU), which helps minority-owned businesses obtain defense contracts. Jones, his top assistant, joined the office in 1999. "Federal prosecutors said the men demanded bribes as high as $100,000 in certain cases and received $1.1 million in bribes and other illegal funds from [minority-owned] businesses seeking government contracts. "Neal was unrepentant. 'The government doesn't get it,' he told federal judge James C. Cacheris. 'I have given up my family life for small businesses. ... That was my job, helping small businesses to gain access. That's what I was doing.' " "Prosecutors said Neal and Jones laundered much of the money they received through a sham company and offshore accounts." Last known link to the complete AP story: Original Washington
Times Headline: "Ex-officials accused of corruption" "Two former high-ranking Pentagon officials in the Clinton administration were arrested yesterday [10/18/02] on charges of extortion, bribery, money-laundering, and witness tampering in a suspected scheme involving the awarding of contracts to minority firms. U.S. Attorney Paul J. McNulty said Robert L. Neal Jr., 50, of Bowie, and Francis D. Jones Jr., 40, of Fort Washington, are accused of having used for "their own private enrichment" their management positions at the Pentagon's Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (SADBU), a $28 million annual program. "The suspected scheme, according to Mr. McNulty, netted the two men more than $1.1 million in illicit profits. "[Officials of the Pentagon's Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization office, Mr. Neal and Mr. Jones] took advantage of the very disadvantaged business people [non-whites] whose interests they were supposed to promote," according to prosecutor McNulty. "[The Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization program] SADBU is the office within the Defense Department chiefly responsible for the development and promulgation of policies and management initiatives designed to ensure that small businesses [owned by minorities or persons of color], small disadvantaged businesses [owned by minorities or persons of color], women-owned small businesses, historically black colleges and universities and minority institutions were given an equal opportunity [i.e., racial preference] to compete for Defense Department contracts. According to the Washington Times, the U.S. Attorney's charging documents stated that Mr. Robert L. Neal was in charge of a $28 million yearly budget, and both he and his assistant, Mr. Francis D. Jones were in a position to exert significant influence over which non-white contractors were able to submit bids to the Pentagon and the Department of Defense. The Times reports: "According to the affidavit, Mr. Neal and Mr. Jones, both of whom are black, engaged in a wide range of criminal activities during their tenure at the Pentagon, using their positions as leverage to receive illegal extortion payments, bribes and gratuities from minority or disadvantaged Defense Department contractors seeking to participate in the preference programs. The affidavit said the two men "coordinated their illegal activities and worked together as partners," conspiring with others in a sophisticated scheme to launder the proceeds of their illegal activities through phony companies, offshore bank accounts and multilayered sham transactions." (Excerpted from the Jerry Seper story in the Washington Times 10/19/02) Last known link: http://www.washtimes.com/national/20021019-77594800.htm END of Pentagon / DoD News Page |
