Washington, D.C.
The Justice Department has arrested a former U.S. official in Iraq for allegedly taking $546,000 in payoffs to steer $13 million in rebuilding contracts to an American businessman. Prosecutors say Robert Stein Jr., who was responsible for doling out $82 million in development money in south-central Iraq, conspired with businessman Philip Bloom to rig bids to make sure big jobs went to companies Bloom ran from Romania. Bloom’s firms landed at least nine contracts, including for the demolition of a former Baath Party headquarters and the renovation of a library. The arrests marked the first criminal corruption case stemming from the $20 billion Iraq rebuilding effort.
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