Pentagon corruption sweep netting many

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. Army Maj. John Lee Cockerham has been jailed for allegedly accepting $10 million in bribes from companies seeking military contracts.

Cockerham, who is accused of hiding the bribery money in overseas bank accounts and safe deposit boxes, is an example of the corruption in military bureaucracy that has led Pentagon officials to investigate $6 billion in military contracts, The New York Times reported Sunday.

So far, 29 civilians and soldiers have been charged with corruption and more than 75 other criminal investigations are underway, the Times said. Such investigations have been linked to the suicides of at least two officers.

One of the likely causes is the fact that at the start of the Iraq war, enormous amounts of cash started flowing through the hands of relatively junior and inexperienced military administrators, the newspaper said.

Cockerham and his wife have admitted to $1 million in bribes but they have pleaded innocent to charges equaling almost $10 million.

The actions of corrupt military officials are disturbing in light of the sacrifices being made by troops fighting overseas, Charles W. Beardall, chief criminal investigator for the Pentagon inspector general, said in a statement to the Times.