Army Captain Accused of Accepting Bribe for Contracts in Iraq

The Department of Justice accuses yet another military official trying to make money illegally off of government contracts overseas. United States Army Captain Austin Key, from Watertown, New York, is accused of steering military contracts in Iraq in exchange for $50,000.00. He was arrested late Wednesday.

It all started in July of 2007. Captain Key was stationed in Baghdad and operating as a Field Ordering Officer with the ability to purchase supplies for the U.S. Army. In addition, Captain Key oversaw hundreds of thousands of dollars in supply contracts.

Authorities at the Department of Justice say that Key, 27, approached a contractor that was a U.S. citizen that normally dealt with army contracts for his business. Key supposedly told him that he wanted $125,000.00 to secure contracts for him in the future. The contractor filed a complaint to the Department of Justice.

The man became an informant for them and continued to have conversations with Key. He even recorded them. During a recorded meeting on August 11, 2007, Captain Key, according to investigators, told the informant that he would give him advance, confidential information about contracts to help him better bid. He also allegedly offered to tell other officials about his business so that they would favor the informant's business over other Army contract bids. But Key also wanted $50,000.00 cash up front plus 5% of any of the contracts accepted by the Army. The informant agreed and met with Captain Key on August 15, 2007. After the informant and Captain Key exchanged money, law enforcement then arrested him and recovered the $50,000.00.

With this arrest, Captain Key is charged with one count of bribery and could face up to 15 years imprisonment and a fine of either $250,000.00 or the three times the gross gain or loss from the offense. He is scheduled to appear in a United States Magistrate Court later today.

Several investigative entities participated in this arrest, to include the Federal Bureau of Investigation New York Field Office, the Criminal Investigation Command of the United States Army and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service branch of the Department of Defense. All of these offices are related to the National Procurement Fraud Task Force formed in October 2006 by the Department of Justice former Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty. Their mission is to promote early detection, identification, prevention and prosecution of procurement fraud related to government contracts. Other related agencies include the United States Inspector General office, United States Attorney General's office and other local law enforcement.

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