Army Captain Arrested Over Alleged Bribe
Capt. Austin Key allegedly took $50,000 to steer military contracts in Iraq.
Aug. 23, 2007 — -- The U.S. government has charged an Army captain for allegedly accepting a $50,000 bribe in exchange for steering contracts in Iraq.
Authorities arrested Capt. Austin Key, 27, of Watertown, N.Y., late Wednesday upon his return to the United States. Key was recently stationed in Baghdad, where he "had authority to purchase supplies for the U.S. Army" and "oversaw the administration of service and supply contracts awarded by the U.S. Army worth hundreds of thousands of dollars," according to the complaint filed in the southern district of New York.
The complaint charges that Key, "being a public official, corruptly demanded, sought, received, accepted and agreed to receive a thing of value personally in return for being influenced in the performance of an official act."
Key pleaded not guilty to one count of bribery at his Thursday afternoon appearance in United States Magistrate Court. The court released him on signature bond; his next court appearance is set for Sept. 21, according to his attorney, Raymond Granger. Granger declined further comment on the case.
In a sworn deposition, FBI agent James W. Price stated that through conversations with other law enforcement officials and his research of reports and records, he learned of a confidential informant Key had been dealing with in his role with the Army. The confidential informant is described in the complaint as a U.S. citizen who owns a business that is a regular supplier of services and provisions to the U.S. Army in Baghdad.
In July, the complaint says, Key demanded $125,000 from the confidential informant in an attempt to protect the ability of the informant's company to obtain future U.S. Army contracts.
The business owner, however, spoke with an agent from the Pentagon's Defense Criminal Investigative Service and agreed to allow the military to record phone conversations he had with Key and to wear a wire and hidden camera during meetings with him.
During an Aug. 11 meeting, Key allegedly "told the CI that in exchange for $50,000, he would give the CI advance, confidential information on contracts so that the CI would be more successful in bidding on U.S. Army contracts." Additionally, the complaint claims, Key said he would tell fellow Army staff to favor the informant's company over a rival's.
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