SRT scandal

Bribery sting snares dealers
By Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer

Published Tuesday, January 19, 2010


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ST. PETERSBURG — In fancy hotels across the country, arms dealers met with agents of an African nation ready to spend $15 million to arm and equip their country's presidential guard.

To win the deal, though, the sellers were told to inflate the purchase price, authorities said, and kick back the extra to the buyers as a bribe to that nation's minister of defense.

But those agents weren't from Africa. They were from the FBI.

Their 18-month undercover sting resulted in Monday's arrest of a St. Petersburg arms dealer and 21 others working for U.S.., British and Israeli companies on federal charges of trying to bribe a foreign official, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

John Benson Wier III, 46, president of SRT Supply Inc., was arrested on charges of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

A third of those arrested — seven individuals from six companies in the military and law enforcement products industry — are from Florida. The FBI arrested Weir and 20 others in Las Vegas, where the defendants were attending a trade show.

Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer said Tuesday that it was the largest-ever investigation undertaken to enforce the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits U.S. and foreign individuals and companies from bribing foreign officials.

"Bribery of a foreign government official is still a way of doing business for way too many people," Breuer said. "Anyone who believes that foreign bribery is an acceptable practice, they should look at this case.

"We are pushing this behavior out of these corporations' playbook."

He added that it was another example of the Justice Department aggressively combating fraud and white-collar crime. He said the government is already trying to "get ahead" of complaints of fraud connected to the Haitian earthquake relief effort.

According to the indictment, Weir's part of the deal was to sell 1,800 grip-mounted laser sights. Weir met with the undercover agents May 14 at the Mandarin Oriental in Miami, the indictment states, and agreed to inflate 20 percent of the purchase price as a kickback to African government officials.

Weir sent the undercover agents an inflated invoice for the 1,800 grips, the indictment states, and sold 25 of them at the marked-up price. Weir wired back 20 percent of the inflated price of the 25 grips to the buyers in June, the indictment states.

Then on Oct. 5, Weir met with the agents in Washington, D.C. He was told the minister of defense was "pleased" with the kickback, the indictment states, and was told the rest of the order was approved.

SRT Supply's headquarters is listed as 4450 60th Ave. N, but it has a retail center listed at 5019 Ulmerton Road in Clearwater.

According to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, the company is a state-approved vendor that has sold body armor, SWAT equipment, pepper spray and other non-lethal weaponry to the agency.

Yep they even busted the VP of Winchester ....

WTF did you post this here for. We got cnn on the tv

Let's see the FBI can't stop an extreme Muslim from getting on a plane, with a bomb. However they can set up people in the arms industry on Bull shit charges. It is illegal for them, yet we have the Corn husker kick back, La purchase and the Nelson No cuts for democrats in Florida. Special deals for SEIU union members. However we are suppose to believe these guys did something wrong? This is going know where. Do you thing that a VP from Smith and Winchester is going to let the government beat them? The Government better be nice to the arms industry, piss them off they might refuse to sell to LEO's. Like Barrett won't sell the .50 caliber to Ca LEO!

Let's see the FBI can't stop an extreme Muslim from getting on a plane, with a bomb. However they can set up people in the arms industry on Bull shizzat charges. It is illegal for them, yet we have the Corn husker kick back, La purchase and the Nelson No cuts for democrats in Florida. Special deals for SEIU union members. However we are suppose to believe these guys did something wrong? This is going know where. Do you thing that a VP from Smith and Winchester is going to let the government beat them? The Government better be nice to the arms industry, piss them off they might refuse to sell to LEO's. Like Barrett won't sell the .50 caliber to Ca LEO!

How bout a radical muslim that couldn't get a security clearance as U.S.A. prez? :!:

Don't you just love hearing about how are own government sets us up .

Call me crazy....but I don't think I am going to fault the Feds for this one.... Sounds like our boyz at SRT had some shady business practices and did what they needed to do to get foreign business. The only problem is it was illegal and they were busted.

Innocent until proven guilty but it doesn't seem exactly right to be kicking back money to politicians to get business.

Oh, and I don't think it is exactly right to suspend all other law enforcement operations to focus on terror.... Hire more agents so they can focus on both....

Oh wait...that is what they did after 9-11...

Regarding this scandal, couldn't give a crap less.

Regarding this scandal, couldn't give a crap less.

Thankyou for your very enlightening post and insight!! It made as much sense as your username but, I guess we should all be thankful that you even took the time to provide us with your opinion, Skippy!

Nice, that would explain the high prices that they charge the departments, maybe more charges will follow locally.