Earmark Probe Focusing on Former Aide to Visclosky

A federal investigation into defense contracts awarded through congressional earmarks is increasingly focused on a former top aide to Rep. Peter J. Visclosky (D-Ind.) who worked with the congressman on funding requests from clients of a powerful lobbying firm, according to two sources familiar with the probe.

Investigators have gathered evidence that Charles E. Brimmer, Visclosky's former longtime chief of staff, suggested to some lobbyists that companies seeking Visclosky's help in getting Pentagon funds would need to commit to a program of donations to the member of the Appropriations defense subcommittee, the sources said. The Justice Department is trying to determine whether Brimmer's proposal constituted quid pro quo, an illegal act in which a public official requests something of value in exchange for an official action.

Brimmer, 55, Visclosky's right-hand man on political and appropriation decisions, announced in late May that he would retire from his post, days after investigators subpoenaed records from Visclosky's offices and from Brimmer personally. Visclosky said then that investigators sought information about the congressman's dealings with the PMA Group, a lobbying powerhouse that also has been a focus of the investigation.

When the FBI carted away records from PMA's Arlington offices roughly a year ago, agents already were pointedly asking for information about Brimmer, according to the two sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the probe.

Brimmer, who had worked on the congressman's staff for two decades and served as his chief of staff since 1992, could not be reached Friday at his home. His attorney, James Cole, declined to comment on the investigation. The office of Visclosky, a 13-term congressman, did not respond to phone calls and e-mailed questions.

These four are up to their neck in the pay to play scams with defense contractors and other companies. Peter J. Visclosky = Charles E. Brimmer; John P. Murtha = Paul Magliochetti (PMA)

BGRND U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Johnstown, has helped to direct millions of dollars in federal defense appropriations to major defense contractors that sub-contract large portions of the jobs to Kuchera Defense Systems. Employees and associates are among major contributors to Murtha political campaigns. In January, agents from the FBI, the IRS and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service searched the office of Kuchera Industries and Kuchera Defense Systems, as well as the homes of the firms' founders. The companies reportedly have received over $100 million in earmarks, thanks to Murtha's efforts.

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There's so many other crimes being committed here it's not even funny. Can you say government fraud, multiple conspiracies, kickbacks, tax evasion (all of it to facilitate money laundering)? Conspiracy counts alone might include mail fraud, electronic fraud, and accounting fraud. L/E might consider:

(a) conspiracy to defraud the IRS, and evade US banking laws,

(b) international money laundering,

(d) aiding and abetting the preparation of false federal/state income tax returns.

Authorities might examine the company's receipts to falsely verify bogus charitable contributions (kickbacks) and multiple conspiracies and transfers of funds as part of a money-laundering conspiracy.

Government audits might show off-the-books bank accounts that were accessed solely by insiders, and that government-funds were used in various illegal schemes that might have integrated:

(1) money laundering,

(2) tax evasion (stolen money is taxable),

(3) violations of US banking and currency laws,

(4) conspiracy to commit wire fraud,

(5) commercial bribery in various financial schemes,

(6) establishing secret offshore bank accounts outside the purview of the IRS and US banking laws,

(7) fraudulent and casual accounting practices,

(8) non-existent financial oversight,

(9) having a hidden financial interest in companies faking business with the company,

(10) putting phantom employees on the payroll (money laundering).

It's been postulated that co-conspirators were laundering proceeds from drug cartels and organized crime activities, whether drug dealers use the Murtha Airport, and whether money was laundered through this company.

There's a zillion ways to launder money. Drug monies could have been disguised by re-routing monies. Company may have routed the scheme through telephone lines with a maze of complex telecommunications' systems equipped with call-forwarding and voice mail systems, and numerous postal and commercial mail boxes..........and perhaps money-transfer systems that operate in ethnic enclaves and places like NYC's Diamond District.

Investigators may discover numerous falsified official documents.

Drug monies could have been disguised by re-routing through a network of domestic and international bank accounts using counterfeit checks.....opening commercial bank accounts in the name of bogus businesses and wire-transferring and/or depositing gov't checks into those accounts.

Phony checks could have had invalid bank routing numbers, forged endorsements, or been drawn on the proceeds of other counterfeit checks deposited in other bank accounts. Before banks discovered the fraud, the funds might have been transferred out of the accounts……probably offshore----leaving banks unable to recoup their losses.

State and federal tax authorities could have been swindled. In an international scheme with offshore ties, co-conspirators or subsets of them, might have obtained hundreds of taxpayer identification numbers for phantom citizens with worldwide addresses, and used the information to evade US taxes and banking laws.

In a classic fraud, co-conspirators might keep two (or more) sets of books. Methods may have included limited-recourse loans to artificially inflate "asset value," to fraudulently borrow real money based on “assets” that didn’t really exist.

ACTIONABLE OFFENSES MIGHT INCLUDE:
(1) Encouraging the filing of false documents;
(2) Rigging legislation to benefit a special interest.
(3) Forcing taxpayers to underwrite crimes against the state without their knowledge or consent (constitutes the crime of second degree coercion of taxpayers, and should beprosecuted at once);
(4) Not reporting crimes against the state (aiding and abetting).

Is The FBI Getting Closer To Murtha?
TPM | 7-21-09 | Zachary Roth
FR Posted on 07/21/2009 1:46:10 PM PDT by smoothsailing

For months now, the Pennsylvania Democratic power-broker's name has been popping up in connection to a wide-ranging FBI investigation of defense contractors and lobbyists to whom he has ties. And yesterday brought more bad news... Mark O'Hair, a former Air Force employee pleaded guilty (sub. req.) Monday in connection to getting a kickback from a defense contract that Murtha, who chairs the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee, had provided.

Roll Call reports: According to the plea agreement, filed in a federal court in Florida, in May 2005, "Congress passed a tsunami relief act which included within the provisions of the act an $8.2 million earmark for the development of the 'Mobile Common Data Link Gateway.' Coherent Systems International, Inc. (CSI) had lobbied for this earmark appropriation."

Roll Call reported in June that Coherent was represented by KSA Consulting, the lobbying firm that employed Murtha's brother, Kit, and that the Congressman had provided this earmark to Coherent by eliminating the same sum from a project that had been designated for a previous client of his brother's firm. The O'Hair case appears to begin tying together the other strands of the FBI probe that has put Murtha -- who frequently appears on good-government groups' lists of the most corrupt lawmakers -- in the spotlight.

In addition to the Coherent payment, O'Hair also approved a payment of $650,000 -- for products that were not part of the contact -- to Kuchera Industries, another defense contractor with close ties to Murtha. (Its founder, Bill Kuchera, has said, that the company would not exist were it not for Murtha.)

Kuchera's headquarters were raided by the FBI earlier this year, and in May, the Navy suspended Kuchera after tips from company insiders suggested that taxpayers may have been billed improperly for Kuchera family expenses. And O'Hair also approved a payment to another company that was represented by the PMA Group, a now-defunct lobbying firm founded by Murtha's former chief of staff.

PMA was raided by the FBI last fall, and is being investigated for allegedly tying campaign contributions to earmarks doled out by Murtha and by another member of the Defense Appropriations subcommittee, Rep. Pete Visclosky.

Just in the last two years, Murtha has steered earmarks totaling around $93 million to PMA clients, and since 2002 he has taken in around $1.75 million from PMA and its clients. Ominously, O'Hair has said he will cooperate with the Feds. Coherent's CEO, Richard Ianieri, who earlier this month pleaded guilty to soliciting kickbacks, has also indicated he'll cooperate. It's unclear where the federal probe is going, and whether it's headed toward Murtha himself, who hasn't been charged with any wrongdoing at this point. But it's not a stretch to imagine that it's already too close for the congressman's comfort.

Late Update: A Murtha spokesman tells TPMmuckraker via email: Congressman Murtha has said all along that if these individuals and companies broke the law then they should be held accountable for their actions, period.

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