Reply With QuoteIf true....what a complete scumbag and a disgrace.
$80,000 on a cellphone? Just...how?
Former 173rd Airborne Brigade commander goes on trial
http://hamptonroads.com/2012/06/form...-trial-germanyFormer U.S. army commander goes on trial in Germany
The Associated Press
© June 10, 2012
BERLIN
The former commander of the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade went on trial Sunday on suspicion of fraud, conduct unbefitting an officer, bigamy and other charges related to an alleged long-term extra-marital affair he had with a woman he met in Iraq, while they were both living in Europe. He pleaded guilty to most of the charges.
Col. James Johnson III, a West Point graduate, is being court martialed before a panel of officers in western German Kaiserslautern. He was relieved of his command of the Vicenza, Italy-based 173rd in March 2011, and faces multiple years in prison and a dishonorable discharge if convicted of all of the counts against him and given the maximum penalties.
Johnson faces six charges with 27 specifications of single incidents; out of those, six were dismissed at the trial's start Sunday, and Johnson pleaded guilty on 15 of them, according to Army public affairs officer Hilde Patton. He pleaded not guilty on six specific occurrences, which will therefore be evaluated by the court martial. No plea deal was entered, she said.
Johnson, the son of retired Lt. Gen. James H. Johnson Jr., who led the Fort Bragg, 82nd Airborne Division during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, was seen as a rising star in the Army before the charges were levied.
The defendant is accused of having carried on an affair with an Iraqi woman he met in Iraq in 2005-06, who was the daughter of his cultural adviser, and having married her before being divorced from his own wife in a ceremony that was carried out by proxies for both of the two in Montana in November. It was not clear whether Johnson's own divorce has now gone through.
The woman, identified in court documents as Haveen Alladin Muhammed Al-Atar, has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
According to the charge sheet, Johnson made numerous trips to visit the woman in the Netherlands using official vehicles and travel cards, which are government-issued credit cards.
He is also accused of arranging official transport worth thousands of dollars for the woman, tens of thousands of dollars of contracts for her father for things that "were neither produced nor received," and giving the family an Army cell phone on which they ran up more than $80,000 in charges.
The court martial resumes Monday morning. It is scheduled to go through June 16.
What an idiot.
If true....what a complete scumbag and a disgrace.
$80,000 on a cellphone? Just...how?
Six charges were dismissed and he already plead guilty to of the others.Originally Posted by Rattfink
Must of been some amazing 'tang. Like, kamasutra 'tang.
I guess he had a weakness for women..
Holy hell! I hope she was worth it ;
It just sad man. All that theft and all that waste.
It better have been gold plated. This guy threw away his career over it. But, it's not like it isn't the first time it's happened.
No sympathy, whatsoever.
I dunno. I have some compassion for the guy. Couldnt they let him keep his rank but give him punishment duty in the Aleutians?
HELL NO. He was an officer in the US Army. When he raised his right hand, and swore his oath of commitment, he assumed certain responsibilities. Instead, he threw it all away to chasing that kitty. I hope he likes winters in Kansas.
Apparently he used DoD money for his paramour, so I guess letting him go with a slap in the hand was a big no-no. I've never understood ending the career of officers because of extra-marital affairs, but this guy pushed the envelope a lot further than that, straight into "misuse of Army funds" territory.
"James Johnson III" - the third of his name? Sounds like some character from Game of Thrones, he probably thought he was royalty or something and could get away with anything ...
Absolutely. NONE. I've seen guys hounded over a couple hundred duckies on their Gov't cards. Some were honest mistakes. So for someone to fraudulently use hundreds of thousands of dollars, especially from a senior, he needs to be prosecuted.
He needs to hang because of his crimes. (figuratively)
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