Fuel Fraud Latest In Army Contracting Woes

Source: CBS News

The delivery of aviation gas to the giant U.S. air base at Bagram in Afghanistan is the latest case of fraud to hit a contracting system overwhelmed by war and practically begging to be ripped off, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports exclusively.

So far two former employees of Kellogg, Brown and Root have been arrested for their part in a scheme worthy of Tony Soprano.

The two KBR men, who worked for the U.S. military at Bagram, forged receipts for 80 tanker loads trucked in but never delivered, according to court documents. The Pentagon paid for the undelivered fuel while the drivers sold it on the black market. For their role in the scheme, KBR employees divvyed up an estimated $800,000 in kick backs, reports Martin.

That's just one of more than 80 criminal cases involving some $15 million in bribes. It is still a growing scandal which Pentagon officials expect will uncover hundreds of fraudulent contracts.


Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/01/national/main3440529.shtml

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Aren't you glad the SCOTUS put the grownups in charge? :sarcasm:

...that locked crooked contractors out of future government business.

Getting rid of the law was just about the first thing Bush did when he took office in '01.

much less comprehend the term....

If they not hiring cronies, they hiring crooks.

Their cronies are crooks.

Why does that phrase make me want to :puke:?

It sure ranks pretty high on my "lame excuse" meter. :shrug: