Judge: Trial won’t be Iraq War debate
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By Ann McGlynn | Saturday, April 05, 2008 |
The judge who will oversee the trial of a man accused of inflating a logistics contract in Iraq told attorneys in the case that he will not tolerate a debate about the war in the courtroom.
Jeff Mazon of Country Club Hills, Ill., is scheduled to go on trial April 14, three years after federal prosecutors accused him of manipulating a contract and later accepting a $1 million payment.
Mazon worked in Kuwait for a company called KBR. He was responsible for soliciting bidders, negotiating with them and issuing subcontracts under the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program, or LOGCAP III. The contract is overseen by the U.S. Army Sustainment Command on Arsenal Island.
“I’m not going to let this case go beyond what it is,” U.S. District Court Judge Joe B. McDade told attorneys for both Mazon and the government during a pretrial conference Friday. “It’s a fraud case.”
McDade approved a motion made by the government that Mazon’s attorneys not be allowed to argue that the defendant is: being made a scapegoat by KBR, that he has been framed by KBR or that the government has worked in concert with KBR to bring the charges against Mazon on what is known as Subcontract 39.
Prosecutor Jeff Lang acknowledged that the KBR contract has been a controversial aspect of the war, given that KBR’s former parent company, Halliburton, used to be led by Vice President Dick Cheney.
Lang went on to question why David Lesar, the CEO of Halliburton, should be allowed to testify for the defense, as indicated on Mazon’s witness list.
McDade told Mazon’s attorney, Alan Brunell, that before Lesar “is brought to this trial, I want proof he has something relevant.”
The government’s first witness at the trial, which is expected to last up to three weeks, will be the contracting officer from the Arsenal who oversees LOGCAP, Lang said.
The program is the multibillion-dollar contract overseen by the Army Sustainment Command. It provides everything from laundry service to food for the U.S. military, mostly in southwest Asia.
According to court documents, in February 2003, as plans were being made for American troops to enter Iraq, Mazon awarded a company named LaNouvelle a contract for $5.5 million to provide the military with fuel tankers.
Mazon is accused of inflating LaNouvelle’s bid and that of another company eight times over the estimated cost before awarding the contract. That turned a $685,000 job into one with the $5.5 million price tag.
Mazon was able to convince KBR officials in the United States that he did not have to inform Army officials on the ground in Kuwait that the bid was significantly higher than anticipated. He also did not explain the situation to his direct supervisors, court documents indicate.
When Mazon left KBR in June 2003, Ali Hijazi, a LaNouvelle manager, gave him a $1 million check, “an award for Mazon’s favorable treatment of LaNouvelle,” prosecutors say. An attempt was made to make the $1 million appear to be a loan to cover its intent, federal authorities allege.
Hijazi also is charged in connection with the case. He remains at large and is believed most recently to be living in Kuwait. There is no extradition treaty between the United States and Kuwait. Hijazi and the company he worked for are banned indefinitely from doing business with the U.S. government.
The number of documents involved in the case tops 1 million. They include bank records, travel documents, military contract records, employment agreements, e-mails both to and from Mazon, Hijazi and others, and transcripts of voice mails and conversations.
Ann McGlynn can be contacted at (563) 383-2336 or amcglynn@qctimes.com.
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