Former contracting official gets 30 months for bribery scheme

Carten Cordell

Jan 8, 2016

Copied to clipboard

Copied to clipboard

A picture shows in the forefront the new US embassy complex in Baghdad and in the background, cranes towering over the construction site of the International High Tribunal (IHT) courthouse, in the heavily fortified Green Zone, on the west bank of the Tigris River in Baghdad, 11 October 2007. Shoddy construction work, safety lapses, kickbacks, internal disputes and ballooning costs — the new US embassy complex in Baghdad is mired in a deluge of problems, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the frontline of fire from lawmakers. Three months after the State Department confidently told Congress that the world’s biggest US embassy would be completed on schedule in September 2007, officials are now saying that it would be delayed indefinitely, with one report saying by more than a year. A multitude of questions have been raised over the safety of the complex, budgeted originally at about 600 million dollars. AFP PHOTO/STR

A former contracting official working in the Iraqi “Green Zone” received a 30-month sentence for accepting bribes to steer government contracts, prosecutors announced on Jan. 8.

James Edwards Addas had previously pleaded guilty to bribery and tax evasion charges for accepting more than $455,000 in cash and items valued at more than $70,000.

Addas was a contracting official at the Iraq/Afghanistan Joint Contracting Command in the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad in August 2004 when he was approached by a contractor to steer government contracts to a Jordan-based company.

Addas helped award 15 contracts for electrical construction projects in Iraq, worth $28 million, to the company in exchange for a proposed $1 million in bribes.

Department of Justice officials said Addas got the initial bribe of $50,000 in a paper bag, delivered inside the “Green Zone” of the embassy compound.

Addas omitted the money from his tax returns, leading to an evasion charge.

About

Carten Cordell

Copied to clipboard

Copied to clipboard

GovCon

Bollinger ready to vie for US, Canada, Finland icebreaker contracts

The company will build Polar Security Cutters for the U.S. as it signs an icebreaker pact with Canada and Finland.
NATO signs $700 million Stinger missile contract amid production push

The Raytheon-produced system was one of the first weapons the U.S. shipped to Ukraine following Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Air Force, Space Force join Army for Bring-Your-Own-Device enrollment

Fifty thousand Army enrollees are using the service since that effort began as a pilot program in 2022.
Pentagon keeps commitment to Sentinel nuclear missile as costs balloon

Even a modified version of the Sentinel ICBM will be 81% more expensive than the program’s original costs.

Loading…Load More

Trending Now

VA launches trial to test GLP-1 medication for alcohol use disorder in veterans
US industrial base is becoming stronger for wartime production, study finds
How veterans groups came to clash over a sweeping VA benefits bill
GOP lawmakers seek review of VFW’s claims authority amid veterans cartoon controversy
Pentagon to explore cheaper replacements for the MQ-9 Reaper

Facebook
X
RSS Feed

Federal Times

Terms of Use
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service
Get Us
Contact Us
About Us
- About Us
- Careers

Featured Video

Could you make it through Denmark’s bootcamp for civilian conscripts?

The cost of new battleships in a Golden Fleet | Defense News Weekly Full Episode 8.11.26

What does a modern battleship cost? A lot. | Headlines

Big moves in missile production amid stockpile reports | Defense Dollars

VA launches trial to test GLP-1 medication for alcohol use disorder in veterans

US industrial base is becoming stronger for wartime production, study finds

How veterans groups came to clash over a sweeping VA benefits bill

GOP lawmakers seek review of VFW’s claims authority amid veterans cartoon controversy

Pentagon to explore cheaper replacements for the MQ-9 Reaper