Defendant Offered Contracts in Return For Money, Took $15,000 –
WASHINGTON – Ron Middlebrooks, a former senior executive with the U.S. Postal Service, was sentenced today to two years of incarceration on a bribery charge stemming from his acceptance of $15,000 in cash from a businessman he promised to reward with government contracts, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Unbeknownst to Middlebrooks, the businessman was working with law enforcement.
Middlebrooks, 47, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, pled guilty in August 2011 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to receipt of a bribe by a public official. The Honorable James E. Boasberg sentenced him today. Upon completion of his prison term, Middlebrooks will be placed on two years of supervised release. As part of his plea agreement, he agreed to resign from the Postal Service.
“This defendant was caught red-handed shaking down a government contractor for bribes,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “He used his position of government trust for personal gain, but his corruption was exposed by an ethical contractor and dedicated federal agents. This prosecution demonstrates our commitment to holding accountable those who would seek to sell out the public trust for personal gain.”
According to a statement of facts submitted to the Court, Middlebrooks was the Postal Service’s director of International Civilian and Military Transportation and Networks, a senior executive position that was based in Washington, D.C. His official duties included managing international networks for civilian and military mail, including logistics contracts for all classes of mail worldwide. He also was responsible for developing and implementing contingency plans to ensure that disruptions of global civilian, military, and/or international mail operations were resolved quickly and effectively, including during times of war.
In November 2010, Middlebrooks met with an executive for a business identified in the court filings as Company A, a freight shipping airline with government contracts with the U.S. Postal Service. He told the executive that he wanted Company A to buy two real estate properties from him, which he owned personally. In exchange, Middlebrooks would provide the company with increased business transporting mail for the Postal Service.
The executive contacted Middlebrooks for a follow-up meeting. Unbeknownst to Middlebrooks, however, the executive was cooperating with law enforcement. On two occasions, on Dec. 13, 2010 and then again on Jan. 5, 2011, Middlebrooks accepted money from the executive with the understanding that he would reward Company A with business. Both times, the men discussed plans for Company A to purchase Middlebrooks’s real estate properties.
During the first meeting, the defendant accepted an envelope containing $10,000 in cash. Following this meeting, Middlebrooks directed that Company A receive an emergency contract to ship international mail that needed to be shipped on short notice.
In December 2010 and early January 2011, Middlebrooks and the executive had several telephone conversations discussing how Middlebrooks would increase the company’s business with the Postal Service in exchange for the company purchasing his properties at an above-market value price that he had set.
During the second meeting, Middlebrooks accepted an envelope containing $5,000 in cash. During that meeting, Middlebrooks told the executive, “you’re gonna be sure as hell glad you met me” because he intended to follow up and increase Company A’s business.
Authorities recovered $13,400 from Middlebrooks after his arrest, and he subsequently paid back the other $1,600 that he took in the scheme.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen thanked those who worked on the case from the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General, including Sheila Brock and Samuel Simpkins. He also commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Sroka, who assisted with asset forfeiture, Paralegal Shanna Hays, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Haray, who prosecuted the case.
Related Link:
USPS Executive Pleads Guilty To Bribery
$15,000 in cash from a businessman he promised to reward with government contracts, Who was it? Flat sorting machines, DPS machines, or exersize machines at their new corporate spa in DC.
They all do it and only one got cought.
Only $15,000? We had a window clerk get busted for $680,000 just by stealing stamps.
i see this crook was allowed to resign..is he still eligible for an annuity? he should have been summarily fired,with no future benefits.the way i read it,he could snake his way back in at a future time. it’s been done before.,i’ve been in the po for 37 years and i’ve seen it happen.
The working people of the usps knows all about these useless slug dick head management and stupidvisors. Its a crying shame management makes up ther own rules. This scandal with management would top the penn state mess
another at the top that needs more then the $153,000 per year they are paid.
this sounds like a future Vice President of Thievery
Make the management craft a non-supervisory craft that will manage to improve customer service and improve sales and increase revenue. Make them work for their jobs and maybe they will have more respect for the crafts that actually do work. . The plant manager that sent the clerks to their deaths in the anthrax attack was recently promoted to 1 of the 47 high level VP positions under Donahoe. FIRE ALL POSITIONS THAT DON”T WORK THE MAIL! Let the crafts manage themselves. Make management increase the postal revenue and increase customer service for their salaries. Make the managers that violate the union contracts that they agreed to deduct the fines directly from their salaries. Then there will be no more violations of binding arbitration. It’s the only fix to save our postal service. MAKE MANAGEMENT WORK NOT BULLY FOR BONUSES!
Postal workers are more than angry with the powers that be for not forcing the PMG to resign. All we see and hear from congress is how good of a job he is doing. Ask a postal worker that isn’t in the management craft what we think he is doing to our postal service. If congress thinks he is doing a good job then why are we in financial trouble. Bring back reference volume (8 hours of volume for 8 hours of pay.) and the micro-managers won’t be needed. Subtract the $65,000 average salaries for the 110,000 managers and save 7 billion 150 million dollars a year. It’s about time for an audit from an outside source. Ross Perot was sub contracted to do an efficiency study in 1986. Management buried the 6 million dollar study because it suggested the postal service cut the fat from the top down. In 86 the stamp was 22 cents with a 1 to 55 management to craft ratio. Today at 44 cents we have 4 craft employees to every management position. Either the press or a government accountability agency not involved with USPS needs to audit these facts. Donnahoe MUST be audited. He must be held accountable for his mis-information and manipulation of the facts. Last I heard it was a federal offence to lie to congress.