Bribery Rings Exposed in Army National Guard

Bribery Rings Exposed in Army National Guard

Five Army National Guard officials and one civilian have been charged with bribery schemes related to the awarding of millions of dollars in Army National Guard marketing, retention and recruitment contracts, according to a federal indictment.

Charles Sines, 56, of Stafford, Virginia, a retired colonel from the United States Army National Guard, Wesley Russell, 48, of Albany, Indiana, a retired lieutenant colonel from the Indiana Army National Guard, and Jason Rappoccio, 39, of Hampton, South Carolina, an active-duty sergeant first class from the Army National Guard, are charged with conspiracy to solicit bribes and the solicitation of bribes.

Sines allegedly provided bribes, while Russell and Rappoccio allegedly asked for and received bribes. The indictment alleges that the officials subverted the open bidding process and illegally steered millions of taxpayer dollars to the bribe-payers through marketing and advertising contracts.

Two of the retired Army National Guard officials and the civilian have already pleaded guilty to their roles in the schemes. Robert Porter, 50 of Columbia, Maryland, a retired colonel from the Army National Guard, and Timothy Bebus, 44, of Forest Lake, Minnesota, a retired sergeant major of the Minnesota Army National Guard and owner of Mil-Team Consulting and Solutions LLC, each pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia in September 2014 to conspiracy to commit bribery and bribery of a public official.

Julianne Hubbell, 45, of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, a civilian who partnered with her brother, Bebus, as the vice president of operations of Mil-Team, also pleaded guilty in September 2014 to conspiracy to commit bribery. Sentencing hearings for Bebus and Hubbell are scheduled for Jan. 23, 2015, and for Porter on Jan. 30, 2015.

The alleged steering of large government contracts is a betrayal of the trust placed in the Army National Guard, said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Andrew McCabe. ‘It is also offensive to active duty, reserve and retired members of the National Guard Bureau who took an oath to support and defend the Constitution.’

The investigation into the bribery schemes was led by the FBI, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit (Army-CID). ‘The alleged corruption is particularly egregious given the trust that the public places in the military,’ said Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell. ‘We will continue to root out corruption wherever we find it.’

The indictment alleges that the officials involved in the bribery schemes received millions of dollars in bribes from contractors who were awarded marketing and recruitment contracts. The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges may be filed.

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