For those of you who have been following the Custer Battles story, this ought to make your blood curdle.
Alan Grayson, attorney for the whistleblowers involved in the lawsuit against CB, made a presentation to the Senate Democratic Policy Committee on Feb. 14, 2005 that was astounding in its revelation of blatant and flagrant fraud as perpetrated by two ex-servicemen who apparently used inside connections to secure in excess of $100 million dollars in government contracts. These contracts were for the provision of, get this, security inspection for civilian flights into and out of Baghdad airport (of which none existed!).
The following is a press release from Custer battles website:
Custer Battles Brings Its Expertise To Baghdad
June 17, 2003 - Mansour District, Baghdad: Custer Battles, a global risk management firm with operations on five continents, announced today that it has opened a representative office in Baghdad's Mansour District. Custer Battles is expanding its support and services to humanitarian organizations, government organizations and private businesses operating in Iraq.
"In all my years of experience operating and investing in emerging and transitioning markets, I've rarely seen such opportunities," Mike Battles, Custer Battles co-founder and managing director of the Baghdad office, said. "The Iraqi workforce is well-educated, eager and anxious to continue their proud history of cultural and commercial success."
In addition Custer Battles will be providing objective investment advice and due diligence on behalf of investment funds, multinational corporations and private investors.
Custer Battles is the leading provider of tailored risk management solutions. Their suite of services is designed to allow senior management teams to understand the risk environment and identify profitable courses of action to maneuver with minimal exposure to risk. Client service offerings including business intelligence, global risk consulting, due diligence and litigation support, are designed to cover the full spectrum of risk management and mitigation, which can be applied collectively or individually to fit the client's specific needs.
Media Contact: Tam Burch at 703-385-1121 or Jennifer Martin 401-848-7500
©2001 Custer Battles LLC. All rights reserved.
What a frigin joke!
The video of Grayson's presentation is nothing short of damning, you'll be shaking your head throughout. It's a MUST SEE!:
http://www.canofun.com/...
7 minutes in - pay very, very close attention to what this lawyer says.
I've watched this video four times today and to date, have not seen nor heard such profound evidence of mismanagement, wartime profiteering, and flagrant abuse of duty. You really get a sense of how tragically colossal is this waste of taxpayer money that has literally been thrown at this disaster.
UPDATE:
KateCrashes, in the commentary section below, sheds some additional light onto the matter. Apparently, the committee hearing was originally held on February 14th, 2005. You can find a transcript here.
I urge you all to give a read when you have a moment (40 pages!). I'm only a few pages through but it clearly demonstrates a profound sense of frustration toward their congressional counterparts and a deep desire by these committee members (all democrats) to inject accountability and transparency into the oversight process (or lack thereof).
I imagine Canofun resurrected the clip because of its relevancy to this article from yesterday's L.A. Times:
U.S. Contractor Found Liable for Fraud in Iraq
A federal jury tells a security firm to pay back millions to the American government.
By T. Christian Miller, Times Staff Writer
March 10, 2006
WASHINGTON — In the first action of its kind, a federal jury on Thursday found that a private security firm had bilked the U.S.-led interim government in Iraq out of millions of dollars.
Custer Battles, which is based in Virginia, was found to have used shell companies, faked invoices and even stolen forklifts in a scheme to defraud the now-defunct Coalition Provisional Authority, which ruled Iraq after Saddam Hussein's regime fell.
Although a handful of other contractors involved in the reconstruction of Iraq face criminal charges, Thursday's ruling is the first time that a federal jury has ordered a contractor in Iraq to pay back purloined funds to the government.
KateCrashes provides additional pertinent links here.
Thanks for the heads-up!