The water we drinkArmy water contracts fraudster appeals
Last Tuesday, a man convicted of defrauding the U.S military of millions of dollars on water purification contracts requested the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to throw out his 210-month sentence because a key witness was unable to testify; Richard E. Long was convicted of bribery, wire fraud, and money laundering for WATEC, Inc., a Tennessee based firm that provides water purification services to the military; Long accepted $550,000 in bribes in exchange for rewarding contracts worth as much as $66 million to WATEC, Inc.
Last Tuesday, a man convicted of defrauding the U.S. military of millions of dollars on water purification contracts requested a federal appeals panel to overturn his decision.
The convicted man’s attorney requested the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to throw out his 210-month sentence because a key witness was unable to testify on his role in the scandal.
In September 2009, Richard E. Long was convicted of bribery, wire fraud, and money laundering for WATEC, Inc., a Tennessee based firm that provides water purification services to the military.
After serving with the U.S. military for forty-two years, Long became a civilian employee at the Army Forces Command in Atlanta where he reviewed bids from private contractors for water related contracts.
It was there that Long began accepting bribes through his wife from WATEC’s owner Mack S. Smith, to ensure that his company would be awarded water contracts.
Prosecutors accused Long of accepting $550,000 from 2001 to 2007 in bribes including down payments for two homes in Florida. In return, Smith won contracts worth as much as $66 million.
Long’s attorney Regina Cannon Stephenson says that the trial would have ended differently had the original judge allowed Mary Anne Osborn, Long’s co-worker, to testify.
Stephenson said, “The rest of her testimony would have been crucial to his case,”, because it would have proven that Long had little power to influence the contracting process and give WATEC preferential treatment.
She concluded that not allowing Osborn to testify “violated [Long’s] right to a fair trial.”
Osborn pleaded the Fifth Amendment to avoid incriminating herself as at the time she was under criminal investigation. The investigation found that she was not guilty of any criminal misconduct, but was suspended for two months without pay.
Stephenson insists that Osborn should have been able to testify and that her testimony would have influenced the jury.
“Unless she’s exposing herself to criminal liability, she can’t use the shield of the Fifth Amendment,” Stephenson argued.
Long’s wife was acquitted of all charges, but Smith was found guilty on charges of bribery and fraud and was sentenced to twelve years and six months in prison.
