Monday, August 20, 2007

A little off-topic

Not network security related, but makes me so angry I have to post it.

August 17, Washington Post
Defense contractor was paid $1 million to ship two washers.
A South Carolina defense contractor pleaded guilty Thursday, August 16, to
bilking the Pentagon out of $20.5 million over nearly 10 years by adding hundreds of
thousands of dollars to the cost of shipping spare parts such as metal washers and lamps. The
parts were bound for key military installations, including those in Iraq and Afghanistan. In one
instance, in 2006, the government paid C&D Distributors $998,798 in transportation costs for
shipping two 19 cent washers. Charlene Corley, 47, co-owner of C&D Distributors, used the money to pay for luxury homes, cars, plastic surgery and jewelry, according to court
documents.

Do you remember the stories at the beginning of the Iraqi war, about soldiers scavenging junk yards for metal plates to make armor for their Hummers? Regardless whether you agree with the war or are vehemently opposed, this kind of fraud of our military in a time of war to me is tantamount to treason. Wonder what kind of punishment she'll get? A year or 18 months in a minimum security prison?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Either they are extremely stupid, expecting to get away with such fraud, or they know something about how well the processes are audited. Fortunately, this one was found. Let's hope they find a way to patch up the holes. Any normal business would go broke pretty quick dealing with that kind of supplier...

JeffSoh said...

I don't think these folks are stupid. Just the opposite. Cunning. And unscrupulous. Sickening.

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