| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Harry Hope" |
| Date: |
12 May 2007 09:03:32 AM |
| Object: |
FBI investigates Nevada Republican governor for corruption |
From NBC News, 5/11/07:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18613647/
FBI probes Nevada governor for corruption
Did Jim Gibbons accept cash and gifts in exchange for defense
contracts?
By Lisa Myers, Jim Popkin & the NBC News Investigative Unit
The key facts are familiar.
A politician gets a fancy vacation and perhaps other lucrative
benefits.
And a defense contractor gets multi-million-dollar government
contracts.
The question now: Was any of it criminal?
The new governor of Nevada, Jim Gibbons, is being investigated by the
FBI because of alleged gifts and payments from Warren Trepp, a defense
contractor whose Nevada firm received tens of millions of dollars in
federal contracts.
The FBI wants to know if Gibbons, while a member of Congress,
improperly used his influence to help Trepp get those contracts.
Sources close to the investigation say a key focus is a lavish
week-long Caribbean cruise in March 2005 by Gibbons, his wife and son,
and Trepp, who paid for almost everything.
In photos obtained by NBC News, Gibbons is seen hamming it up —
kicking back with a drink and posing with his wife, Dawn, Trepp and
Trepp's other guests.
Software designer Dennis Montgomery was also on that cruise with
Gibbons.
He estimates the trip cost "probably $20,000 a person," claiming he
saw the invoice.
Montgomery says his former business partner Trepp chartered a 727 to
fly guests from Nevada to Florida and back and picked up the tab for
penthouse rooms, private meals and expensive wines.
In an exclusive interview with NBC, Montgomery — who's now at war with
his former partner — makes an explosive charge.
He says that near the end of the cruise, he saw Trepp pass money to
the congressman.
Dennis Montgomery: There was a lot of alcohol and a lot of drinking.
And that's when I first saw Warren give Jim Gibbons money.
Lisa Myers: How much?
Montgomery: Close to $100,000.
Myers: How can you know?
Montgomery: Because he gave him casino chips and cash.
Myers: Are you sure about what you saw?
Montgomery: I'm absolutely, positively sure.
So sure that Montgomery has made the same allegations in federal
court.
Montgomery's wife also says she saw Trepp pass casino chips to
Gibbons.
In addition, Montgomery provided NBC with hundreds of e-mails, he
says, from Trepp's computer.
Days before the cruise, Trepp's wife e-mails her husband:
"Please don't forget to bring the money you promised Jim and Dawn on
the trip."
Hours later, Trepp e-mails back:
"Don't ever send this kind of message to me! Erase this message from
your computer now!"
There also is a paper trail showing Gibbons helped Trepp's company,
eTreppid, get government contracts.
In a 2003 e-mail, an eTreppid executive tells Trepp that Gibbons
helped secure a contract and "we need to take care of him like we
discussed."
Two years later, the same executive writes, "He [Gibbons] has always
been really good to us."
Montgomery is now cooperating with the FBI in the criminal
investigation of Gibbons and Trepp.
In court, and in our interview, Montgomery claims that Trepp gave
Gibbons cash twice, the second time allegedly was in Trepp's office at
eTreppid.
Montgomery: He took a hundred thousand out of his desk, two $50,000
bundles, and asked me to get a briefcase, which I did. 15 minutes
later, Jim came in, picked it up and left.
Myers: Did you see the Congressman with the briefcase?
Montgomery: Yes.
Myers: And you're sure the money was in there?
Montgomery: Yes
Montgomery, a registered Republican, says he never reported the
alleged payments to the FBI.
He says he did tell the Air Force official who was handling their
contracts as had been instructed.
Myers: Why didn't you go to the police?
Montgomery: Because I've been informed, because of the nature of the
work that we do, this is the only person I am to go to.
Myers: Because you do classified work for the government?
Montgomery: We do work for the government.
NBC News called Montgomery's Air Force contact and asked whether he
ever knew about or reported any alleged payments to the congressman.
The official said "no comment" and hung up.
Montgomery also says he confronted Trepp, to no avail.
Myers: Did you raise the possibility that this was improper?
Montgomery: Yes.
Myers: And he said?
Montgomery: Stay out of it.
Montgomery's credibility will be put to the test, but so will Trepp's.
He was chief broker for junk-bond trader and convicted felon Michael
Milken.
The Securities and Exchange Commission tried to bar Trepp from the
industry for what a judge called "egregious, recurring and
intentional" misconduct.
The case against him eventually was dismissed because the government
waited too long to bring charges.
Myers: Some people are going to look at this and say, "'This is just
one angry, disgruntled man. Why should we believe him?'"
Montgomery: Because I know what happened for the last five years and I
can prove it.
__________________________________________________
Another day another Republican scandal.
Harry
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