Posted on 08/17/2007 9:34:22 PM PDT by Calpernia
A Texas oil executive pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a scheme to cheat the United Nations oil-for-food program out of millions by paying kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's Iraq regime.
David Chalmers, the sole shareholder of Bayoil USA Inc. in Houston, was set to go on trial next month on charges he used a cozy relationship with Iraq in the 1980s to secure oil contracts.
He could have faced more than 60 years in prison if convicted. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend a 37- to 46-month term when he is sentenced Nov. 19.
Chalmers uttered a barely audible "guilty'' when asked to enter his plea by U.S. District Judge Denny Chin. He also agreed to pay more than $9 million in restitution.
His two companies, Bayoil USA and the Bahamas-based Bayoil Supply & Trading Ltd., also admitted to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Chalmers told Chin that he allowed money to be illegally wired to Iraq, through another agent at his company, in the spring of 2001. He said that letters faxed to the UN during the same period did not disclose the illegal payments.
He was arrested more than two years ago and originally pleaded not guilty. The 2005 indictment said Chalmers' companies paid the secret kickbacks so they "could continue to participate in the business of selling Iraqi oil under the United Nations' Oil-for-Food Program.''
The program, which ran from 1996 to 2003, was created to help Iraqis cope with U.N. sanctions imposed after Saddam's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. It let the Iraqi government sell oil primarily to buy humanitarian goods.
Chalmers' co-defendant, former Coastal Corp. chairman Oscar Wyatt, still faces trial next month on similar charges.
Related:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1881487/posts
Tycoon Wyatt wants Saddam link omitted from trial (Sen. Kennedy implicated in possible treason)
Oil for Food, bump
Git A Rope !!!
Ping.
Thanks, I’ll link to it,
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27 records found in 0.5781 seconds. Total for this search: $21,550 |
Search Criteria: |
|
Contributor |
Occupation |
Date |
Amount |
Recipient |
|
CHALMERS, DAVID |
BAY OIL USA |
6/22/2000 |
$1,000 |
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Cmte |
|
CHALMERS, DAVID B |
CORAL OIL AND GAS INC |
6/2/1995 |
$1,000 |
Gramm, Phil |
|
CHALMERS, DAVID B |
10/3/2002 |
$300 |
National Republican Congressional Cmte |
How about the other 24?
I think the search link is still working, though. You could look up anyone in any state.
Oh, OK, I didn’t catch that.
Here is a functional link for you.
Cheers!
They catch the small fish, and Kofi Annan and his henchmen all go scot-free...
We don’t know that. We don’t know what connections and information is being collected.
These guys have no loyalty except to the quick buck.
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