Army officer accused of taking bribes
During two tours of duty in Iraq, an Army officer from Western Washington allegedly accepted about $40,000 in bribes to steer government business to contractors, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.
Capt. Cedar Lanmon allegedly accepted cash, handmade furniture and decorative rugs from contractors, including an Albanian - owner of Just in Time Contracting - who paid $25,000 for a recommendation that helped secure a $250,000 berm-construction job at Balad Air Base north of Baghdad.
Army special agents in Federal Way investigated the allegations in cooperation with the FBI. Friday, the Western Washington U.S. Attorney’s Office filed the one-count complaint that accuses Lanmon of conspiracy to accept a bribe, money laundering of bribery proceeds and illegally importing an antiquity, a piece of ancient pottery from the city of Ur.
This investigation is one of dozens that have unfolded across the nation to track bribery and other alleged abuses in the huge military contracting program in Iraq.
The complaint also accuses Lanmon of loaning an 18-year-old Iraqi $500, then helping ensure the young man got contracts that allowed him to pay back $1,000. Lanmon told investigators he believed he made an additional $10,000 during his first deployment by providing other short-term loans to Iraqis, according to the complaint.
Lanmon was stationed at Fort Lewis from 2002 until August of this year, and he served in Iraq in 2004 and again in 2006.
His conduct in Iraq came under scrutiny in September after his estranged wife contacted Army criminal investigators, according to the 13-page complaint.
Lanmon is now stationed at Fort Jackson, S.C., according to an Army spokesman. He made an initial court appearance in Tacoma on Friday and has not yet entered a plea.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jennings said that a conspiracy conviction could bring up to five years in prison.
Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581