01-22-2010, 06:59 AM
Bribery sting snares dealers
By Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer
Published Tuesday, January 19, 2010
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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.
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.