(AFP) – A jury on Monday convicted a retired four-star US admiral who served as the US Navy’s second-highest-ranking officer on corruption charges for steering contracts to a company in exchange for a lucrative job.
Robert Burke ordered staff to award a $355,000 contract to a company, and then began working there at a $500,000-a-year job after his 2022 retirement from the Navy, the US Department of Justice said. He also unsuccessfully attempted to convince a top officer to give the firm a separate contract.
A jury found him guilty of offenses including bribery, performing acts affecting a personal financial interest, and concealment of material facts, court records show. Sentencing is set for August, the same month that two co-CEOs of technology services firm Next Jump are to go on trial in a related case, the Washington Post reported.
Monday’s verdict makes Burke the senior-most officer to be convicted in recent times for crimes committed while serving in the US military. In the Navy, Burke served as deputy commander of the US 6th Fleet, commander of Submarine Group 8, and chief of naval personnel — a position he held at the same time as when he was vice chief of naval operations, the service’s second-highest position.
The Navy has faced other corruption problems in recent years, with the most notorious scandal involving Leonard Francis — known as “Fat Leonard” — who handed out more than $500,000 in cash bribes and provided prostitutes, first-class travel, luxury hotel stays, and lavish meals to naval officers. Francis was sentenced to 15 years in prison in November 2024, after fleeing house arrest and traveling to Venezuela before being returned in a prisoner swap the previous year.
As part of a plea agreement, Francis provided government investigators with detailed information that led to the conviction of a number of high-ranking US Navy officers.
© 2024 AFP
