‘Contractors’ Archives
Grapes and Sex and Government Contracts
Talk about low-hanging fruit: A prostitute testified Wednesday that former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham fed her grapes as she sat naked in a Jacuzzi before they headed to a bedroom at a Hawaiian resort. The woman testified at the bribery trial of defense contractor Brent Wilkes, who is accused paying the former congressman with $700,000 in [...]
Baghdad Embassy Coverup
by David Phinney Oct. 19, 2007 -- A project manager and the State Department Inspector General covered up "enormous problems" in the management of the $592-million embassy project in Baghdad, McClatchy newspaper reporters Warren P. Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay report today. Problems became apparent after a mortar shell smashed into the [...]
Blackwater Morphing
Robert Young Pelton's take on Blackwater -- as filtered by Dan Rather Reports on HDNet. Petlon says the interview took place nine months ago, but was netcast only recently: Go to minute 37:50 after first story: Petlon and Rather talking about Blackwater.
What is USProtect Doing in Iraq?
by David Phinney If these bribes between USProtect and the General Services Administration in California took place, you have to wonder how USProtect is going about its business in Iraq: Oct. 17, 2007 -- A former chief executive for USProtect, a security company pleaded guilty earlier this month to giving bribes to a contracting officer at [...]
Baghdad Embassy Contractor Aims for More Business
Sloppy construction, safety problems, bribes, slave-like labor practices, missed deadlines, internal disputes and inflated costs -- the new $600-million US embassy compound in Baghdad is swamped in a rising deluge of allegations from lawmakers and the news media. Meanwhile, the former Washington representative for the Kuwait-headquartered [...]
Embassy to be Finalized ‘Later this Month’…. Huh?
Stop the Press: Charles Williams, director of the State Department's overseas building operations, told USA TODAY that the new embassy in Baghdad will be finalized later this month. The delay was shorter than those seen during recent construction of smaller embassies, he said. Seems the State Department just can't get its story straight. State [...]
Baghdad Embassy Delayed Indefinitely with Cost Overruns
The opening of the mammoth new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has been delayed indefinitely, according to Reuters as the Kuwaiti contractor "fixes a punch list of problems," the State Department said on Tuesday. The sprawling complex, whose cost is edging toward $750 million, was set to open last month but U.S. lawmakers say shoddy work by the [...]
Waxman Takes More Swings at Baghdad Embassy Contractor
A leading Democrat in Congress is blasting the US State Department for apparently casting a blind eye on allegations of widespread construction flaws at the $600-million-and-counting embassy project in Baghdad. In a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Rep. Henry Waxman, who chairs the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee, [...]
US Embassy Contractor Missing Laptop?
by David Phinney Oct. 6, 2007 -- A laptop belonging to a high-level executive supervising construction of the new US embassy in Baghdad went missing in May 2006 at the Kuwait office of the contractor hired to build the new US embassy in Baghdad, according to multiple sources. These sources, who formerly worked with the contractor, have [...]
Rumors of First Kuwaiti Airplanes for People Moving
From spring 2006: The general manager for the US Embassy contractor, First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting has two airplanes the company can't register and is piloted by a German pilot named Wolfgang .... The general manager also has another plane piloted by Brits flying in and out of Kuwait and a fourth that may be registered. Another [...]
