NEW YORK, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- A U.S. Army captain was charged in a Manhattan federal court with accepting bribes to steer federal contracts to preferred vendors while stationed in Iraq.
The U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York filed charges against 38-year-old U.S. Army Capt. Bryant Williams for steering more than $500,000 in Army contracts to preferred contractors in exchange for bribes while stationed in Baghdad.
Williams from 2005 to 2006 served as a procurement officer with the 101st Airborne Division, assisting in the vetting of contractors and overseeing the administration of contracts worth between $2,500 and $200,000.
The FBI reports that Williams, in an effort to conceal the bribes, provided an unnamed contractor with a mailing address in Iowa to send $20,000 in cash. In January 2006 Williams gave two contractors information regarding a diamond ring he wanted to give to his wife as an anniversary present. One of the contractors later purchased the ring for Williams.
Williams turned himself into federal authorities Monday. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years for mail fraud and 15 years for the bribery charges.
He also faces fines of as much as $250,000.
