Marine sentenced for receiving illegal gifts
Richard Joseph Harrington, 38, a major in the U.S. Marine Corps, has entered a guilty plea and been sentenced in U.S. District Court for receiving illegal gratitudes.
Harrington, who is listed with a Jacksonville address, entered a guilty plea for demanding, seeking and receiving gratitudes. He was deployed to Camp Fallujah, Iraq, where he served as a contracting officer representative, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The release states that Harrington “acted as a liaison between contractors and the contracting office, inspecting and accepting productions and monitoring their performance to ensure compliance with the contracts.”
Harrington accepted cash, Rolex watches, an Omega watch, expenses for which he later requested reimbursement from the U.S. government, and a Persian silk rug, according to the release. He was sentenced to 12 months and one day in jail, followed by one year of supervised release.
While a contracting officer representative, Harrington performed duties on a $2.2 million gym equipment contract with Al Jazaer Group.
According to the Department of Justice release, “Three-fourths of the way through the contract, in November 2005, Harrington traveled to Dubai, UAE, on official government orders for the purpose of conducting market research involving the procurement of non-tactical vehicles of the U.S. Marine Corps. Before leaving for the trip, Harrington told the principal point of contact/corporate representative for Al Jazaer that he wanted to get two Rolex watches. The corporate representative secured the watches and arranged for a third party to give them to Harrington while in Dubai.
“During the trip, Harrington was unofficially accompanied by a representative of AVA International Corporation who paid for the majority of Harrington’s official expenses to include his flight, hotel and transportation. The representative also purchased a Persian rug for Harrington. Harrington subsequently filed a travel reimbursement request claiming $10,225.81 in expenses and received full reimbursement from the U.S. government.
“In late November 2005, Harrington received a Rolex watch valued at $7,000 from the representative of another corporation interested in future contracts involving non-tactical vehicles. Harrington also asked the Al Jazaer Group representative for another Rolex watch and $35,000 in cash. The representative agreed to get him both.
“On November 30, 2005, Al Jazaer Group submitted an invoice for the remaining 25 percent of the contract. Harrington signed off on the requisite documents. Shortly after Al Jazaer Group received payment, the representative gave $30,000 to Harrington. When Harrington asked about the other $5,000, the representative later gave him an additional $5,000, along with the previously requested Rolex watch.
“In December 2005, Harrington shipped the $35,000 in a trunk to his residence in Jacksonville, N.C., and brought the watches home with him. He did not declare either the currency or the watches on his customs forms.
“Harrington later used the gifts of cash to purchase a car, pay off another car loan and buy another Rolex watch upon his return to North Carolina.
“In or about April 2006, Harrington emailed the Al Jazaer Group representative and asked for the Persian silk rug to be mailed to his father in Florida. In November 2006, he asked the representative to send him an Omega watch valued at $5,900. The representative complied with both requests.
“After Harrington returned from his deployment, the contractor asked for Harrington’s assistance in getting 30 shipping containers, valued at $90,000, returned to his company, which were being held by the U.S. Marine Corps. Harrington contacted officials at Camp Fallujah to intervene in the dispute over the ownership of the containers and helped Al Jazear get them.”
The investigation was conducted by the Department of Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.
