Stolen US Army equipment for sale in Iraq
Published: 19 May, 2009, 21:23
Edited: 30 January, 2010, 12:13
TAGS: Crime, Military, Scandal, USA
A US Army captain has pleaded guilty to stealing military equipment from a base in Iraq and selling it to a local businessman for $400,000 to $1 million.
Captain Elbert George, a 36 year-old from Suffolk, Virginia, faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty today in US District Court to a single count of conspiracy to steal government property, the AP reports.
He is the second person to plead guilty to an identical charge. Last week it was Sgt. 1st Class Roy Greene, a 32 year-old from Sylvester, Georgia. Another soldier has been implicated but not yet charged.
According to court records, among the equipment that George, Greene and another soldier stole from their base in Balad was a bus, eight trucks, five trailers, 19 generators and other items, which the soldiers sold to an Iraqi businessman for sums ranging from $400,000 to $1 million – all in $100 bills.
The equipment is considered excess and is either reallocated within the military, or donated to other government agencies, including local governments in the USA, as well as the Iraqi military, AP writes.
George and Green are among at least 40 military personnel and civilians who have been convicted of bribery, theft and fraud in association with the Iraq war, according to the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.
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This is why Americans are taxed so much and see so little in return. A thief is a thief whether you steal a government jeep or take a bribe {contribution} to put EARMARKS into CONGRESSIONAL bills/legislation that make a contributor much richer. Legalized thieft of American taxpayer's money is just as bad as stealing it illegally. This is how the so called NATIONAL DEBT FARCE reaches fourteen trillion dollars. The big thieves almost never have to go to jail. The little thief gets the spotlight on him/her while the billion dollar thieves get excused by the government and the hyped up news media. This is all called "CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN". There are always more creative ways to swindle the tax paying citizens. "YES WE CAN" swindle the tax payers. "YES WE CAN" motor mouth a big lie without being detected by the majority of the people. YES WE CAN. THIS IS CHANGE WE CAN FOOL THEM INTO BELIEVING IN.