POGO (Mostly) Identifies Companies Stung in Foreign Corruption Investigation

This week brought big news in the world of contractor misconduct: a federal sting operation nabbed a total of 22 defense contractor executives and employees for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The 22 individuals were arrested this week and charged with paying bribes to an undercover FBI agent posing as an African defense ministry official looking to award a $15 million military and law enforcement equipment supply contract. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is calling it the single largest prosecution in the history of its enforcement of the FCPA, which prohibits individual and companies from bribing foreign government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business.

POGO keeps track of FCPA cases in our Federal Contractor Misconduct Database, which at last count contains 16 such instances, so our first reaction upon hearing the news was to find out if any of the arrested contractor employees worked for companies featured in our database. Unfortunately, the DOJ can be just as tight-lipped and unhelpful as the Government Accountability Office when it comes to informing the public. Neither the DOJ’s press release nor the actual indictments name any companies. (The DOJ’s reticence might be due to the fact that, as mentioned in the press release, the investigation is ongoing, but providing the companies’ place of business and a description of what they do without identifying who they are just seems silly, as if the DOJ thinks its public disclosures are LSAT logic games.)

Luckily, our trusty pal Google helped us track down most of the names as well as a few other interesting tidbits. Listed below, in bold, is the information the DOJ provided about the 22 individuals in its press release followed by whatever supplemental information we were able to dig up on Google:

1 and 2 - Daniel Alvirez, 32, and Lee Allen Tolleson, 25, the president and director of acquisitions and logistics at a company in Bull Shoals, Ark., that manufactures and sells law enforcement and military equipment.

According to this online article, Alvirez and Tolleson work for ALS Technologies. Here

are the company’s public statements about the case.

3 - Helmie Ashiblie, 44, the vice president and founder of a company in Woodbridge, Va., that supplies tactical bags and other security-related articles for law enforcement agencies and governments worldwide.

Ashiblie’s company is i-SHOT, Inc. A brief bio of Ashiblie is on this page.

4 - Andrew Bigelow, 40, the managing partner and director of government programs for a Sarasota, Fla., company that sells machine guns, grenade launchers and other small arms and accessories.

According to this article, Bigelow works for The Gun Search.com LLC.

5 and 6 - R. Patrick Caldwell, 61, and Stephen Gerard Giordanella, 50, the current and former chief executive officers of a Sunrise, Fla., company that designs and manufactures concealable and tactical body armor.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the company in question is Protective Products of America, which posted a statement about the case here.

7 - Yochanan R. Cohen, aka Yochi Cohen, 47, the chief executive officer of a San Francisco company that manufactures security equipment, including body armor and ballistic plates.

According to this July 2000 article and this LinkedIn profile, Cohen’s company is HighCom Security, Inc.

8 - Haim Geri, 50, the president of a North Miami Beach, Fla., company that serves as a sales agent for companies in the law enforcement and military products industries.

According to LinkedIn, Geri’s company is High Tech USA.

9 - Amaro Goncalves, 49, the vice president of sales for a Springfield, Mass., company that designs and manufactures firearms, firearm safety/security products, rifles, firearms systems and accessories.

The fact that Goncalves worked for a well-known company like Smith & Wesson ensured that his arrest would garner the most media coverage. The company posted this terse statement about the case on its web site.

10 and 11 - John Gregory Godsey, aka Greg Godsey, 37, and Mark Frederick Morales, 37, the owner and agent of a Decatur, Ga., company that sells ammunition and other law enforcement and military equipment.

12 - Saul Mishkin, 38, the owner and chief executive officer of an Aventura, Fla., company that sells law enforcement and military equipment.

13 and 14 - John M. Mushriqui, 28, and Jeana Mushriqui, 30, the director of international development and general counsel/U.S. manager of an Upper Darby, Penn., company that manufactures and exports bulletproof vests and other law enforcement and military equipment.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Mushriquis are a brother and sister who run Mushriqui Consulting L.L.C., a company that, according to the article, has only four employees but does business on six continents. The company posted this promotional video on YouTube.

15 and 16 - David R. Painter, 56, and Lee M. Wares, 43, the chairman and director of a United Kingdom company that markets armored vehicles.

According to this press release Painter and Wares’s company is  Security Support Solutions, Ltd. (3S), which was acquired by a Cincinnati-based defense firm called The O’Gara Group in 2007.

17 - Pankesh Patel, 43, the managing director of a United Kingdom company that acts as sales agent for companies in the law enforcement and military products industries.

18 - Ofer Paz, 50, the president and chief executive officer of an Israeli company that acts as sales agent for companies in the law enforcement and military products industries.

According to Haaretz, Paz’s company is Paz Logistics. A company profile, in English, is posted here.

19 - Jonathan M. Spiller, 58, the owner and president of a Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., company that markets and sells law enforcement and military equipment.

According to this “Company Snapshot”, there is a company called JM Spiller & Associates in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. We also found a web site for a company called The Spiller Group, which also has a Ponte Vedra Beach address and seems to be some sort of hardcore military/law enforcement equipment company.

20 and 21 - Israel Weisler, aka Wayne Weisler, 63, and Michael Sacks, 66, owners and co-chief executive officers of a Stearns, Ky., company that designs, manufactures and sells armor products, including body armor.

The Louisville Courier-Journal, surmises that the company in question is ArmorShield USA.

22 - John Benson Wier III, 46, the president of a St. Petersburg, Fla., company that sells tactical and ballistic equipment.

According to the St. Petersburg Times, that company is SRT Supply, Inc.

None of the aforementioned companies are in our misconduct database.

As you can see, there are still a few we haven’t been able to identify. Perhaps you, dear reader, can help us out. Please post your findings in the comments.

-- Neil Gordon

Comments

[John]

Very interesting that Johan above has insight into the dealings of Messrs Wares and Painter with such accuracy, taken the words right out of my mouth. This is indeed the tip of the iceberg and expect many more indictments with partners and or associates of this duo, they got what was coming to them, greed yet again triumphs over common sense and intelligence.

[Johan]

Lee Wares and Painter were formerly the owners of SSS3 and sold out to the O'Gara Group now mostly owned by Wilfred (Bill) O’Gara based in Cincinnati.
Clients include US Army Corps of Engineers World Bank, Overseas Leasing Group and hundreds more in Afghanistan and Iraq. The are tied up with Russian owned Streit Manufacturing, armored vehicles, Dubai based with offices in Canada and S. Carolina.
More hookers and guest houses in Dubai than you can shake a stick at for US contracting officers.
Suprise surprise what do we see now, the Mushriqui Consulting L.L.C, like the O'Gara Group is also tied up with the Russian owned Streit Manufacturing armored vehicles, Dubai based with offices in Canada and S. Carolina.
The plot thickens!

This is the tip of the iceberg!

[Craig]

In my investigative experience, DoJ policy is to not name unindicted individuals or entities. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven otherwise. It was the individuals who were charged here. there may have been insufficient evidence of corporate knowledge or approval of their actions. The companies may be cooperting against their employees, in an effort to reamin in the government's good graces and off the Excluded Parties List.

[sabottanker]

Weisler and Sacks also own US Cavalry.

[Billy]

Patel is with Quartermaster's in the UK. Also look into US Cavalry and a slew of other companies for Geri.

[SoCal Contractor]

This is good work -- thanks. My question is, why does DOJ seem so reluctant to name corporate names? It's not just this press release; it's been a trend over the past year or so. DOJ used to be eager to point the finger, as if the public naming was part of the penalty. But no longer. What gives?

[Jake]

It looks like R. Patrick Caldwell, the CEO of Protective Products of America, was formerly a top secret service officer responsible for protecting former VP Cheney: http://www.politico.com/blogs/laurarozen/0110/22_indicted_in_FBI_bribe_sting.html#

Can't make this stuff up...

[Bryan Rahija]

Hey Mike, thanks for all the sleuthing!

[Mike]

Nevermind! Wrong Dawson Precision in Decatur (the one I found sells pumps and other equipment. Sorry, didn't mean to spread lies there.

[Mike]

There's no way that John Gregory Godsey, a/k/a Greg Godsey, 37, and Mark Frederick Morales, 37 work at Dawson Precision, is there? They are more competition oriented, as opposed to LEO/Military, but iShot seems to be similar...

[Mike]

Looks like Saul Mishkin works at Orkil International, LLC