Almotamar.net International Herald Tribune - WASHINGTON: Three Army Reserve officers and a U.S. contractor were indicted Wednesday as part of a bid-rigging scam that steered millions of dollars of Iraq reconstruction projects to a contractor in exchange for cash, luxury cars, jewelry and other pricey goods.
The husband of one of the military officials also was charged for helping smuggle at least $10,000 (�7,700) into the United States that the couple used to pay for improvements to their New Jersey house.
The scam was outlined in a 25-count indictment filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey.
The three Reserve officers were responsible for supervising how the U.S.-managed Coalition Provisional Authority spent an estimated $2.1 billion (�1.6 billion) available for reconstruction projects in Iraq.
The indictment says the three officers � Col. Curtis G. Whiteford, Lt. Col. Debra M. Harrison and Lt. Col. Michael B. Wheeler � directed at least $8 million (�6.2 million) to a construction and services company. In return, they allegedly demanded cash, a Nissan sports car, a Cadillac sport utility vehicle, real estate, a Breitling watch, business-class plane tickets and other items.

The contractor, identified in the indictment as Seymour Morris Jr., allegedly acted as a go-between for the military officers and the construction company by illegally wiring money and securing the goods. Morris is a U.S. citizen who lived in Romania, and owned and operated a Cyprus-based financial services business.