Captain U.S. Army in Iraq was sentenced to three years zalyucheniya

"Captain Bryant Williams will spend in jail 36 months for bribery and extortion in the course of his service in Baghdad," – said in a statement the prosecutor of the Southern District of New York Preity Bharara. According to court documents, during his stay in Iraq in 2005-2006, Williams was assigned to monitor contracts the Pentagon in the country amounting to 250 thousand dollars. During this time, according to prosecutors, he helped push through a deal worth about a million dollars in exchange for more than 30 thousand dollars "kickbacks." The soldier was convicted in December of last year. 40-year-old Williams denies his alleged crimes, and money found during a search of his office, calls "the prize for the game of poker." Nevertheless, co-defendant witnesses claimed the opposite. Thus, the owners of construction companies' Joshua Construction "and" Phoenix Contractors "testified in court that the captain of the U.S. Army threatened them with a gun, demanding a contract and paying him a" prize for the mediation efforts. " Prosecutor David Greenfeld, engaged in a loud affair, admitted that 36 months in prison became a "light sentence" for Williams. According to the lawyer, Judge Barbara Jones "showed leniency to the defendant for his many years of service", during which he received numerous awards and letters of appreciation. Observers point to the rise in the number of recent trials in such cases to U.S. civilian and military courts. Some experts are of the opinion that it is the result of "losing grip" of Washington in Iraq and Afghanistan, caused by shifting attention to the solution of problems in the country, primarily economic.