Former U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Sentenced to Prison for Role in Scheme to Steal Military Equipment in Iraq

WASHINGTON – A former U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) gunnery sergeant was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for conspiring to steal at least 55 electrical generators from USMC bases in Iraq in 2008, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles for the District of South Carolina.

Eric Scott Hamilton, 40, of Carrollton, Ga., also was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs in Greenville, S.C., to three years of supervised release following his prison term.  In addition, Hamilton was ordered to pay $124,944 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Defense. Hamilton pleaded guilty on Aug. 10, 2011, to a criminal information charging him with two counts of conspiracy to steal public property.  

According to court documents and information presented at his plea hearing, Hamilton was stationed from May to September 2008 at Camp Fallujah, Iraq, where he was in charge of a military storage yard containing electrical generators and other equipment for use by USMC units in Iraq.  Hamilton admitted that while he was stationed at Camp Fallujah, he entered into a scheme with a USMC officer to facilitate the theft of electrical generators from the base by private Iraqi contractors.  Hamilton admitted that he identified the generators to be stolen, painted markings on them to designate them for theft by Iraqi contractors, and facilitated access to the storage yard by the contractors’ trucks to load and remove the generators.  Hamilton also entered into a separate scheme with a private Iraqi contractor to facilitate that contractor’s theft of electrical generators from the base.  Both of these theft schemes continued after the USMC closed Camp Fallujah in approximately October 2008 and relocated personnel there to Camp Ramadi, Iraq.  According to court documents, Hamilton was assigned at Camp Ramadi from October to December 2008.

In pleading guilty, Hamilton admitted that he received more than $124,000 in payments from the USMC officer and the Iraqi contractor in return for facilitating the theft of at least 55 generators from Camps Fallujah and Ramadi.  Hamilton received the funds through cash payments in Iraq, checks issued to Hamilton’s wife in the United States by the USMC officer’s wife and wire transfer payments to a bank account in the United States.  Hamilton sent home approximately $43,000 of the cash he received from the thefts at Camp Fallujah by concealing it among American flags contained in foot lockers that he mailed from Iraq to his wife.  The investigation in this case continues.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William C. Lucius from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina and Special Trial Attorney Mark Grider of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, on detail from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR).  The case is being investigated by SIGIR and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

Iraq: An RPG to the Head and a Silver Star – the Gunny Speaks

On December 12, 2008, Conversations with Heroes at the Watering Hole will feature Gunnery Sergeant Nicholas A. Popaditch, USMC (ret.). On April 7, 2004, during the First Battle of Fallujah, Gunnery Sergeant Popaditch “was wounded in action. During a firefight with enemy insurgents, he was struck in the head by an enemy Rocket Propelled Grenade, fired from a rooftop into the commander’s hatch of his tank. He received numerous shrapnel wounds.” His injuries necessitated the removal of his right eye; and, “his remaining eye was legally blind. His right ear and nose sustained significant damage and an implant was placed in his skull.”

In his book, Once a Marine: An Iraq War Tank Commander’s Inspirational Memoir of Combat, Courage, and Recovery, Popaditch describes how at first he “fights to get back to where he was in Iraq - in the cupola of an M1A1 main battle tank, leading Marines in combat at the point of the spear. As the seriousness and permanence of his disabilities become more evident, Nick fights to remain in the Corps in any capacity, to help the brothers in arms he so aches to rejoin. Facing the inevitable following a medical retirement, he battles for rightful recognition and compensation for his permanent disabilities. Throughout his harrowing ordeal, Nick fights to maintain his honor and loyalty, waging all these battles the same way - the Marine way.”

Program Date: December 12, 2008
Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific
Topic: Iraq: An RPG to the Head and a Silver Star – the Gunny Speaks
Listen Live:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2008/12/13/Iraq-An-RPG-to-the-Head-and-a-Silver-Star-the-Gunny-Speaks

About the Guest
Gunnery Sergeant Nicholas A. Popaditch enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in January 1986. After recruit training, “PFC Popaditch was assigned the job of tank crewman and given orders to report to the Basic Crewman’s Course.” During the First Gulf War, “he was assigned as Tank Commander of Bravo 2-2 (an M60A1 main battle tank) and promoted to the rank of Sergeant. During Operation Desert Storm, Sgt Popaditch commanded his tank through breaching operations of two minefields and numerous offensive operations against Iraqi forces as part of Task Force Papa Bear.”

Between the wars, Popaditch was an instructor at Tank Commander’s School and honorably discharged in May 1992. He returned to Indiana where he worked as a construction worker and a correctional officer. Ultimately, he re-enlisted in the Marine Corps and in December 1998, became a drill instructor.

During the Second Gulf War, he “commanded his tank through numerous offensive operations against Iraqi forces. Following the fall of Saddam’s Regime in Iraq, he participated in security and stabilization operations on the streets of Baghdad. In July 2003, he returned stateside.” In the Fall of 2003, now Staff Sergeant Popaditch “volunteered to return to Iraq.” In February 2004, he was “promoted to Gunnery Sergeant. And, in April 2004 his platoon was assigned to combat duty in the city Fallujah.”

About the Watering Hole
The Watering Hole is police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life. Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.

About the Host
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a Criminal Justice Department chair, faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in law enforcement, public policy, Criminal Justice technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in law enforcement.

Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2008/12/13/Iraq-An-RPG-to-the-Head-and-a-Silver-Star-the-Gunny-Speaks

Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530

Iraqis Build Fallujah's First Sewage System

By Norris Jones
Special to American Forces Press Service

Nov. 26, 2007 - About 450 Iraqis are working to get Fallujah's first sewer system operational by summer. That number is expected to grow soon to a construction force of 700 Iraqis. The $85 million project includes a collection system, trunk mains, pump stations and a wastewater treatment plant processing 10.5 million gallons of water a day.

"People are happy because our community is safer now and there are more American projects creating jobs in different areas," said construction manager Awaf Abdul Rahim at the wastewater treatment plant. "It's helped Fallujah's unemployment. When the security situation improved earlier this year, we were inspired to work hard. Our construction crews became more serious and active and are now getting more done."

Peter Collins, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is the project manager overseeing the work. "The long-term benefit is huge. At the moment, Fallujah's raw sewage is flowing into the Euphrates River, polluting it, impacting communities downstream who depend on it as a drinking source," Collins said.

Apart from the Iraqi work force, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has 35 Iraqi engineers visiting the various project sites daily, checking on the quality of the ongoing construction and encouraging worker safety.

Collins said the new treatment plant will have the capacity to serve Fallujah's needs until 2025, even if the community has a 50 percent growth in population from 200,000 to 300,000 residents.

"People in Fallujah may not fully appreciate the impact of this project because they have never lived in a sewage-free city. Next year there will be no wastewater flowing in the streets and their children will be able to play safely outside," Collins said. "It represents a monumental step forward, and that's what motivates us as we work to achieve that goal."

(Norris Jones serves in Iraq with the Gulf Region Central District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.)

Local Leaders Reinforce Success in Fallujah

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Oct. 9, 2007 - Security improvements in Fallujah, Iraq, are allowing coalition forces and Iraqis to reinforce success, the city's provincial reconstruction team leader said today. A year ago, Fallujah was a battlefield between al Qaeda and coalition forces. Today it is recovering, and local Iraqi leaders are setting the pace of that recovery, said Stephen G. Fakan, leader of the provincial reconstruction team in the Anbar province city.

"We have to find Iraqi solutions to Iraqi problems," Fakan said during a conference call with defense reporters. His 14-member team works hand in hand with local Iraqis and members of Regimental Combat Team 6 to improve long-term prospects of the city and its environs.

The area's 800,000 people are mostly centered on the Euphrates River, and the security situation there has improved. "There are still combat operations in area, but not nearly frequent as when we got here in April," Fakan said.

This has allowed the team to go outside the wire and do what they need to do: interface with the Iraqi population and help build the government and the business infrastructure of the region. Fakan said the goal is for the coalition to leave and for Iraqis to sustain the structure of government and the idea of "working with each other that everyone buys into."

The team works with tribal leaders and sheikhs, local government leaders, civil affairs professionals with RCT 6, businessmen and other Iraqi citizens.

The team is now working to kick-start the economy and is working with state-owned enterprises. In one sign of progress, local workers have turned a former artillery factory into a civilian machine shop, Fakan said. The Iraqi government will build a dedicated power plant for the factory, and the team is getting power generating capabilities to the site as a bridge until the powerhouse comes on line. The factory now employs 600 people and could employ up to 4,000.

In other examples of progress, a brick factory near the city that employs 500 people is going full speed, and the team would like to see a state-of-the-art cement factory come on line.

The Euphrates River also provides life and livelihood for the people of the province, and the PRT members are working with local officials to irrigate 16,000 acres of farmland and reclaim another 7,000 acres.

Improvements in local governments "turned government on its head here," Fakan said. Under Saddam Hussein's regime, the Iraqi government was very much top down, with all decisions made in Baghdad and then communicated to local governments. "Now the people in the towns and cities are putting together budgets and proposals" that then go to the district councils, provincial councils and ultimately to the federal government, Fakan said.

Tribes of the area have bought into the idea of the coalition as an ally against al Qaeda, and most of the people in the region follow tribal leaders' orders, Fakan said. He said the team is trying to convince the people that "even though it is a tribal culture, there is still room for a tribal culture and civil governance."

He said his group will continue to work with local Iraqi leaders and with military leaders, as a bridge for both cultures.

Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team Sees Successes in Fallujah

By David Mays
Special to American Forces Press Service

Oct. 4, 2007 - Iraqis are taking solid steps toward self-sufficiency in Fallujah, Iraq, the leader of a provincial reconstruction team embedded with U.S. troops there said today. "(Iraqis) are very entrepreneurial; they are very creative," Stephen Fakan told online journalists and "bloggers" during a conference call from Iraq. "If you give them a problem and you turn them loose on it, they can turn up with some very creative solutions."

Fakan and his 14-member team were deployed to Anbar province in April to help leaders in the region develop a framework within which they can eventually thrive without coalition assistance. Dozens of such embedded provincial reconstruction teams are working throughout Iraq.

"We try to come up with Iraqi solutions for Iraqi problems," Fakan said.

EPRT members encourage government, business, tribal and religious leaders in the region to work together and solve common problems, Fakan explained.

"The Fallujah district government and many of the sub-districts, we call them municipal governments, are now meeting, and formal structures are replacing an initial free-for-all atmosphere," he said. "They've begun to move their focuses from personal agendas and complaints to those of providing essential services and other infrastructure issues facing their constituencies."

Essential services include clean drinking water, something in scarce supply after heavy combat destroyed many pipes and storm drains in the area, Fakan said. While the long-term solution to rebuild such infrastructure will take a lot of time, money and labor, he explained, a short-term solution to that particular problem came out of the blue.

"An anonymous benefactor who read one of our reports and heard about the water-purification issues we have actually contacted a private company in the states and ordered $1 million worth of portable water treatment plants that are run off of solar power for us to distribute in our area," Fakan said.

A new "Keep Fallujah Beautiful" campaign is encouraging citizens to throw trash in appropriate receptacles, Fakan explained, and is rehabbing area soccer fields badly damaged during the war.

"This project will have an immediate impact on the city's youth and provide a safe area to play, as well as a place where neighbors and families can gather and relax," he said.

Fakan also pointed out other projects, such as a newly constructed Fallujah general hospital and the creation of a chamber of commerce, a farmers federation and a soon-to-open small business-development center that will begin to process more than 400 grant applications submitted by Iraqi citizens seeking to run their own companies.

"The small business enterprises, the ones that employ 10 or 20 or 30 people, are the ones that are going to be the backbone of the economic development of this area," he said.

For Iraqi women in the area who have lost husbands or older sons, often the family's sole source of income, Fakan's team helped distribute money from a "quick reaction fund" that has allowed the women to open small businesses such as sewing shops, bakeries and toy stores.

"We're trying to encourage the Iraqis to begin to buy Iraqi products when and where possible," he said.

Other projects in the works include wind, solar and micro hydro projects that can provide electricity to remote villages and power irrigation pumps, Fakan said. With that increased pump power, he explained, farmers will be able to irrigate 16,000 acres of land, reclaiming 7,000 acres that turned into desert while neglected during protracted fighting in Anbar.

"The best part of it is, it's a solution designed by Iraqis for Iraqis," Fakan said. "They get the process."

(David Mays works for the New Media branch of American Forces Information Service.)

Defense Secretary Honors Marine Corps' 'Lion of Fallujah'

By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service

July 19, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates paid an emotional tribute last night to one of the Marine Corps' fallen heroes of the war in Iraq. At the end of his speech at the Marine Corps Association annual dinner in Arlington, Va., Gates talked about the Marine who became known as "The Lion of Fallujah."

The secretary's remarks follow:

"On one wall of my conference room there is a large, framed photo of a Marine company commander taken during the first battle of Fallujah, in April 2004. He's speaking into a radio handset while giving directions to his men as combat rages just blocks away. It's a shot that could have been taken of any number of Marines in any number of places over the last century - at Tarawa, at Inchon, or of Lieutenant Peter Pace at Hue, in 1968.

"During that Fallujah battle, Captain Douglas Zembiec and some men from his Echo Company were on a rooftop drawing rocket-propelled grenades from all directions. They tried to radio a tank crew for support but couldn't get through. Zembiec raced out onto the street through withering fire, climbed onto the tank, and directed the gunner where to shoot.

"After the battle, he said that his Marines had 'fought like lions,' and he was soon himself dubbed 'the Lion of Fallujah.' He was an unabashed and unashamed warrior, telling one reporter that 'killing is not wrong if it's for a purpose, if it's to keep your nation free or to protect your buddy.'

"Zembiec's battalion operations officer described him as someone who 'goes out every day and creates menacing dilemmas for the enemy.' A newspaper profile at the time described him as a 'balding, gregarious man who, in glasses, looks like a high school science teacher.'

"After returning from Iraq, Doug was promoted and given a desk job at the Pentagon. He chafed at the assignment, volunteered to deploy again, and was sent back to Iraq earlier this year. This time, he would not return -- to his country or to his wife, Pamela, and his 1-year old daughter.

"In May, the Lion of Fallujah was laid to rest at Arlington (National Cemetery) and memorialized at his alma mater in Annapolis. The crowd of more than 1,000 included many enlisted Marines from his beloved Echo Company. An officer there told a reporter: 'Your men have to follow your orders; they don't have to go to your funeral.'

"Every evening, I write notes to the families of young Americans like Doug Zembiec. For you and for me they are not names on a press release or numbers updated on a web page, they are our country's sons and daughters. They are in a tradition of service that includes you and your forebears going back to the earliest days of the republic.

"God bless you, the Marine Corps, the men and women of our armed forces, and the country we have all sworn to defend."