RETIRED COLONEL WILL SPEND YEAR IN PRISON FOR IRAQI WAR BRIBERY SCHEME

The following is an excerpt from the Department of Justice website:

Tuesday, August 16, 2011
"Retired Army Colonel Sentenced to 12 Months in Prison for Bribery Scheme Involving Department of Defense Contracts in Iraq
WASHINGTON — A retired colonel in the U.S. Army was sentenced today to 12 months in prison for her role in a scheme to pay bribes for contracts awarded in support of the Iraq war, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.
Levonda J. Selph, 57, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton of the District of Columbia. In addition to her prison term, Selph was sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and $9,000 in restitution.
Selph pleaded guilty in June 2008 to an information charging her with one count of bribery and one count of conspiracy. According to the information, in 2005, then-Lt. Colonel Selph served as chair of a selection board for a $12 million contract to build and operate several Department of Defense warehouses in Iraq. Selph accepted fraudulent bids from a co-conspirator contracting firm, and helped that firm to win the contract award. In return for these actions, Selph accepted a vacation to Thailand and other things of value totaling approximately $9,000.
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Richard B. Evans of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Trial Attorneys Mark W. Pletcher and Emily W. Allen of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the Antitrust Division.
The case is being investigated by special agents of the Army Criminal Investigation Command; Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; and the FBI Washington Field Office.”