(from Justice campaign press release)
Charlie Justice Continues Indictment Of Bill Young For Corrupting Federal Budget, Exploding Deficits
‘Bill Young has become the Al Capone of earmarks’
Three investigations into Young-related earmarking are on going
St. Petersburg, FL – February 19, 2010 – Charlie Justice says Congressman Bill Young has engaged in a systematic “Earmarks for Cash” conspiracy that has corrupted the federal budget process and helped explode the deficit.
Congressman Bill Young Attacks Justice for Attempting to Help Pinellas Association for Retarded Children
After Charlie Justice delivered the first count in the indictment yesterday, Congressman Bill Young’s campaign attacked Justice for attempting to secure funds for the Pinellas Association for Retarded Children for use as a hurricane shelter.
“Bill Young should be ashamed of himself. He sent $13 million of our tax dollars to New York Harbor and took $120,000 in campaign cash for himself. I went through the budget process and the Republican governor of Florida vetoed money to protect children in the case of a hurricane,” Justice said. “This is exactly why it is time to kick Bill Young out of Congress. He just doesn’t get it.”
“On four different occasions, Congressman Bill Young has provided earmarks to entities that have been investigated by law enforcement for bribery and fraud. In some cases, Young’s benefactors have been indicted,” Justice said today. “In his relentless quest for campaign contributions, Congressman Young has taken $737,000 in campaign cash in return for inserting so-called budget ‘earmarks’ into the federal budget. Along the way, investigations have shown that Young’s benefactors have been investigated for a variety of charges including bribery and fraud.”
Justice said Young’s behavior has helped corrupt the federal budget process even as Congressman Young has fought against reforming the process.
“Bill Young has become the Al Capone of the budget earmark process,” said Justice. “Just a few months ago, federal investigators raided yet another firm that had been the beneficiary of millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money shepherded through the budget process by Congressman Bill Young.”
In his second in a series of indictments leveled at Congressman Bill Young, Justice revealed four different occasions where Young earmarks have drawn the attention of American and international law enforcement officials. Three of the investigations are ongoing.
Justice said his examination of Young’s earmarks show a clear link between earmarks and contributions to his campaign.
“There appears to be a formula for Young’s corrupting behavior. The larger the budget earmark, the higher the contributions to Young’s campaign. For every million dollars in tax money Young has doled out, he receives an average of $7,836 to his campaign,” Justice said. “Bill Young has embraced the corrupt ethics of a bygone era and made it a part of the federal budget process. Until Bill Young is removed from Congress, the federal budget process cannot be healed and deficits cannot be controlled.”
“Bill Young has a record that would make Al Capone proud,” Justice said. “Why would a Florida congressman be so interested in helping companies in Maine and England get money from the federal budget? Perhaps it is because some of that money that then flowed to Young’s campaign account.”
“Here’s what I will do differently as the next Congressman from Florida’s 10th District. I will vote to eliminate the practice of earmarking pet projects in the federal budget. I can bring home federal tax dollars to Pinellas County without engaging in the corrupting earmarking process,” Justice said. “I will also fight for jobs and tourism dollars right here in Pinellas County and let New York, England and Maine take care of themselves. I will do it in the open through the budget process instead of through these corrupting earmarks.”
Indictment #2 – The Al Capone of Congress
Indictments, bribery, fraud taint Young budget shenanigans.
Young took $517,300 from four tainted recipients of earmarks.
Case #1: Maine Defense Contractor Indicted After Receiving Millions in Young Earmarks. Young accepted $11,000 for his campaign from those connected to the scandal. Recipients indicted.
Over the course of seven years, Maurice Subilia, owner of a small Maine-based defense company, managed to fleece more than $5 million from the U.S. government through bribery, fraudulent contracting, and overseas money laundering. Rep. Young accepted over $11,000 from individuals connected to the scandal, including two of those indicted in the conspiracy.
Background
Between 2000 and 2007, a small defense company in Maine procured almost $10 million in government contracts. In return, the company provided worthless parts and services as part of a sham operation. Maurice Subilia, the company’s owner, bribed two Army engineers to steer contracts their way, and he used other subcontractors and an overseas bank account to launder the money. All told, Subilia managed to defraud the government of more than $5 million.
As part of his plea, Subilia admitted to using Lealagi and another company called Sage Technologies LLC to bribe Army officials, rig contracts, and funnel federal dollars to himself and family members from 2000 to early 2007.
In order to make their scheme work, Subilia and Cantrell had to keep the money flowing from Congress to Cantrell’s projects. That’s where the lobbying firm came in. Subilia, through Lealagi, hired Congressional Strategies LLC of Arlington, Va.
Congressional Strategies is run by Grayson Winterling and James Littig. The firm specializes in the defense industry…
During the time of the conspiracy, Lealagi and Sage Technologies wired roughly $5.7 million to overseas bank accounts. (Portland Press-Herald, Mar. 22, 2009)
$11,250 to Young from Individuals Connected to Scandal
From 1999 to 2006, Rep. Young received $11,250 in campaign contributions from individuals connected to the Lealagi scandal. The contributions came from Moe Subilia, Dennis and Joan Darling of Innovative Business Solutions, and Grayson Winterling and James Littig of Congressional Strategies. (Federal Election Commission)
Name
Date
Amount
Employer
Darling, Dennis
9/5/2000
$500.00
Innovative Business Solutions
Darling, Dennis
6/6/2002
$1,000.00
Innovative Business Solutions
Darling, Dennis
10/14/2003
$2,000.00
Innovative Business Solutions
Darling, Dennis
6/7/2005
$2,000.00
Innovative Business Solutions
Darling, Dennis
3/24/2006
$2,000.00
Innovative Business Solutions
Darling, Joan
3/24/2006
$2,000.00
Innovative Business Solutions
Subilia, Maurice
9/5/2000
$500.00
Fiber Materials
Littig, M.J.
4/12/2004
$500.00
Congressional Strategies
Littig, M.J.
3/31/2006
$250.00
Congressional Strategies
Winterling, Grayson
7/26/1999
$500.00
Congressional Strategies
Case #2: Authorities raid company after millions in earmarks by Bill Young. Congressman accepted $6,300 for his campaign. Investigation ongoing.
Bill Young has a long-standing quid pro quo relationship with Conax Corporation. They’ve been a contributor to his campaign for as long as he’s been an earmarker for their projects. In Jul. 2009, federal officials raided the offices of Florida defense contractor Conax Corporation. Rep. Young, who has reportedly sponsored $28.5 million in earmarks for Conax since 2005, withdrew an earmark currently in legislation in an attempt to distance himself from the company.
Earmarks for Conax and Quid Pro Quo
In 2007 and 2008, Bill Young sponsored three earmarks totaling almost $10 million for Florida-based Conax Corporation. Although unverifiable due to the former anonymity of earmark sponsorship, it was reported that Young has secured a total of $28.5 million in earmarks since 2005. In return he has received $6,300 in campaign contributions since 2006 from employees of Conax and its parent corporation, Cobham Life Support Systems. (U.S. Office of Management and Budget; Congressional Record, Sept. 25, 2008, p. E1992 and E1994; Federal Election Commission; St. Petersburg Times, Jul. 17, 2009
Name
Date
Amount
Employer
Claudon, Chester III
9/12/2007
$300.00
Conax
Claudon, Chester III
10/27/2008
$300.00
Conax
Frederick, Danny
3/24/2006
$500.00
Conax
Gerrish, Kevin
10/27/2008
$200.00
Conax
Guenthardt, Alvin
3/24/2006
$500.00
Conax
Guenthardt, Alvin
9/12/2007
$500.00
Conax
Kovacik, James
9/12/2007
$250.00
Conax
Losi, Robert
3/24/2006
$250.00
Conax
Lutocka, John
3/24/2006
$250.00
Conax
McCracken, Walter
3/24/2006
$250.00
Conax
McCracken, Walter
6/19/2008
$250.00
Conax
Nesslar, Gary
3/24/2006
$250.00
Conax
Nigh, Clifford
3/24/2006
$250.00
Conax
Barbero, Michael
10/27/2008
$500.00
Cobham
Coffield, Kelly
9/12/2007
$500.00
Cobham
Guenthardt, Alvin
10/27/2008
$250.00
Cobham
Suff, Charles
10/27/2008
$1,000.00
Cobham
July 2009: Conax Offices Raided
On Jul. 15, 2009, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service raided Conax’s St. Petersburg offices and seized corporate records in conjunction with a federal investigation.
An official with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service said the agency executed a search warrant for corporate records as part of an ongoing investigation but declined to elaborate. Also involved in the search were the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the offices of inspectors general with the Air Force, NASA and the Defense Department. (Washington Post, Jul. 16, 2009)
Case #3: Young takes $460,000 in campaign cash from corrupt lobbyists and their clients. Investigation ongoing.
In November 2008, federal officials raided the offices of lobbying juggernaut PMA Group of Washington, D.C. Initial indications suggested that the investigation was related to allegations of illegal political contributions. Over the years Rep. Young has accepted a reported $460,000 from PMA and its clients, more than half of which came from clients who had benefited from an earmark sponsored by Young. In Oct. 2009, a leaked report named several legislators involved in the PMA inquiry, one of whom was Young.
November 2008: PMA Under Investigation
In November 2008, federal officials raided the offices of lobbying firm PMA Group. News of the raid broke in February 2009, and sources indicated that the investigation centered around illegal campaign contributions.
Federal investigators have raided the offices of the PMA Group, one of Washington’s biggest lobbying firms, as part of an investigation into potentially improper campaign contributions, a person briefed on the investigators’ questions said Monday night.
The firm specializes in helping its clients obtain multimillion dollar earmarks, the pet items inserted by a single lawmaker into major spending bills that have played a role in several recent Washington scandals. (New York Times, Feb. 10, 2009)
October 2009: Bill Young Named in Congressional Ethics Probe
In October 2009, a leaked report of the House Committee on Standards and Official Conduct named Bill Young as part of the committee’s inquiry into the PMA-related contribution scandal.
The new revelations indicate that the PMA probe has involved a much larger number of lawmakers than previous public reports had indicated. The report shows the Ethics Committee has spoken to seven members of the defense-spending panel in an effort to determine whether lawmakers violated House ethics rules by trading spending earmarks for campaign donations. (Wall Street Journal, Oct. 31, 2009)
Earmarks for PMA Clients
Since 2007, Bill Young has obtained over $20 million in earmarked funds for PMA Group clients AAR Corp, Coda Octopus, Concurrent Technologies, General Dynamics, ITT Corp, L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin, and Rockwell Collins. (Open Secrets Lobbying Database; U.S. Office of Management and Budget; Congressional Record).
$460,000 to Young from PMA Group and Clients
OpenSecrets.org indicated that Rep. Young has received a grand total of $460,000 in contributions from employees of PMA Group and its clients. PMA clients who received earmarks courtesy of Rep. Young funded his campaign to the tune of $246,700.
Contributions records show Young has received $460,000 from PMA Group and its clients, according to OpenSecrets.org. (St. Petersburg Times, Oct. 29, 2009)
Case #4: A global trail of corruption. Young takes $40,000 from company under investigation by the governments of two countries. Investigation ongoing.
Bill Young has accepted over $40,000 in campaign contributions from a company that is under investigation by the governments of two different countries. British defense company BAE Systems has drawn the attention of the U.S. Justice Department and the British Serious Fraud Office for instances of alleged bribery. Still more impressive is the list of countries in which the alleged offenses took place; if found in violation of all suspected instances, BAE Systems could potentially have committed crimes on four continents.
Background
In late 2007, it was reported that BAE Systems was under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for allegedly bribing Saudi Arabian royalty to procure military contracts. As of October 2009 that investigation was still ongoing. Britain’s Serious Fraud Office is also investigating the company for bribery and has announced its intention to bring a case to the Attorney-General.
The Department of Justice is investigating BAE Systems for alleged bribery in dealings with Saudi Arabia. According to news reports, BAE set up a slush fund with hundreds of millions of dollars in a Washington, D.C. bank to bribe Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan in order to win weapons contracts. (The Hill, Nov. 1, 2007)
The US Department of Justice is still looking into payments worth more than 1 billion made by BAE to Saudi officials…The latest SFO investigation, however, focuses on four other countries where it is alleged that BAE used bribes to secure arms contracts – the Czech Republic, South Africa, Tanzania, and Romania. (London Times, Oct. 2, 2009)
$43,000 in Contributions to Young from BAE Systems
Since 1998, Rep. Young has been a regular recipient of campaign contributions from BAE Systems’ political action committees. He has amassed a total of $43,500. (Federal Election Commission)
Name
Date
Amount
BAE Systems Inc. PAC
3/30/1998
$1,000.00
BAE Systems Inc. PAC
4/20/1999
$500.00
BAE Systems Inc. PAC
10/4/2000
$3,000.00
BAE Systems Inc. PAC
11/13/2001
$2,000.00
BAE Systems Inc. PAC
7/9/2002
$1,000.00
BAE Systems Inc. PAC
9/11/2002
$2,000.00
BAE Systems Inc. PAC
3/11/2004
$1,000.00
BAE Systems Inc. PAC
10/4/2004
$3,000.00
BAE Systems Inc. PAC
4/26/2005
$5,000.00
BAE Systems Inc. PAC
4/28/2005
$5,000.00
BAE Systems Inc. PAC
6/21/2007
$2,000.00
BAE Systems Inc. PAC
3/3/2008
$2,500.00
BAE Systems Inc. PAC
9/24/2008
$1,000.00
BAE Systems Inc. PAC
9/24/2008
$1,500.00
BAE Systems United Defense Employees PAC
10/7/1998
$1,000.00
BAE Systems United Defense Employees PAC
4/1/1999
$1,000.00
BAE Systems United Defense Employees PAC
6/7/2002
$1,000.00
BAE Systems United Defense Employees PAC
4/16/2004
$5,000.00
BAE Systems United Defense Employees PAC
4/13/2005
$5,000.00
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