Gregory Cooper, Bribery, Maryland 2023

A former U.S. Postal Service contracting officer has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for accepting bribes in connection with the awarding of mail delivery contracts.

Gregory Cooper, 59, of Glenn Dale, Maryland, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel on [no date provided] in Greenbelt, Maryland. In addition to the prison time, Cooper was given three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $25,931.76.

Cooper pleaded guilty in May 2015 to accepting more than $25,000 in bribes from a co-defendant who owned two companies that bid on and secured transportation contracts with the Postal Service. The bribes came in various forms, including fitness equipment delivered to Cooper's home, $15,900 in cash, and the payment of a $7,355 tuition bill for Cooper's daughter.

In exchange for these payments, Cooper gave favorable consideration to his co-defendant's companies in the bidding process for nine Postal Service contracts. All nine contracts were awarded to the co-defendant's companies.

The investigation was led by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Salem and Arun G. Rao, and Trial Attorneys Monique Abrishami and Mark Cipolletti of the Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section.

Cooper's sentence is a result of his guilty plea to bribery charges. The exact date of the crime is not specified in the report. However, Cooper's guilty plea was made in May 2015, and he was sentenced 8 years later.

The U.S. Postal Service and the public can rest assured that those who engage in corrupt activities will face severe consequences. This sentence serves as a reminder of the importance of upholding the highest standards of integrity and ethics in public service.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/former-contracting-officer-sentenced-15-months-prison-bribery-connection-awarding-us