Eddie Pressley, Bribery and Money Laundering, Virginia 2011

State: Virginia
Category: Public Corruption
Source: <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/former-army-major-sentenced-prison-bribery-and-money-laundering-scheme-related-dod-contracts" style="color:#cc0000;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DOJ Press Release ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Â Ã¢â‚¬â€

Former Army Major Eddie Pressley, 41, has been sentenced to 144 months in prison for his participation in a bribery and money laundering scheme related to bribes paid for contracts awarded in support of the Iraq war, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.

The sentencing took place in Birmingham, Ala., where U.S. District Judge Virginia Emerson Hopkins ordered Pressley to serve three years of supervised release following the prison term. The court also required Pressley to forfeit $21 million as well as real estate and several automobiles.

Pressley, along with his wife Eurica Pressley, were found guilty at trial on March 1, 2011, 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 case against the Pressleys arose from a corruption probe focusing on Camp Arifjan, a U.S. military base in Kuwait. As a result of this investigation, 17 individuals, including the Pressleys, have pleaded guilty or been found guilty at trial for their roles in the scheme.

Evidence presented at trial showed that Pressley took various actions to benefit certain contractors who paid him bribes, including Terry Hall. Pressley served as a U.S. Army contracting official at Camp Arifjan between 2004 and 2005.

The outcome of this investigation serves as a warning to those who would contemplate such egregious breaches of public trust. It is not a matter of if you will be caught, but a matter of when. The government will continue to pursue corruption among its ranks and bring those responsible to justice.

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