DECATUR, Ala., March 2 (UPI) -- A federal jury in Decatur, Ala., convicted a former Army major and his wife of bribery and money laundering, part of an ongoing corruption probe, officials say.
The investigation centers on defense contracts awarded out of Camp Arifjan, Iraq, the U.S. Justice Department said. So far, 16 people, including the couple, have pleaded guilty or been found guilty in the probe.
The former major, Eddie Pressley, and his wife Eurica were found guilty Tuesday of one count of bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, eight counts of honest services fraud, one count of money laundering conspiracy and 11 counts of engaging in monetary transactions with criminal proceeds.
"The Pressleys are the latest in a line of 16 defendants to be convicted at trial or plead guilty for the bribery scheme at Camp Arifjan," Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, head of the department's criminal division, said in a statement. "Eddie Pressley recruited his wife to join him in an audacious plan to take bribes in exchange for official contracting action on behalf of the U.S. Army, and together they accepted nearly $3 million in illegal payments. They hid their criminal proceeds in off-shore bank accounts and spent their gains on lavish personal items.
"Thanks to the hard work and dedication of prosecutors from the Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section and federal law enforcement agents, the Pressleys are today facing the consequences for their flagrant betrayal of the public trust."
The department said the couple each face a maximum sentence of 15 years for bribery, five years for conspiracy, 20 years for each of the eight counts of honest services fraud, 20 years for money laundering conspiracy and 15 years for each of the counts of engaging in monetary transactions with criminal proceeds. They also face maximum fines of $250,000 per count.
U.S. District Judge Virginia Emerson Hopkins scheduled sentencing for June 29.
