Ethics

1.

A retired U.S. Army colonel pleaded guilty Tuesday to awarding contracts in Iraq to a Kuwait-based firm in exchange for gifts.

Levonda Selph of Virginia admitted accepting $4,000 in cash and a $5,000 vacation to Thailand from the unidentified contractor, which was awarded $12 million in contracts to operate Defense Department warehouses in Iraq.

She pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and conspiracy. She was secretly indicted on those charges in October; the charges weren't disclosed until her court appearance Tuesday.

Under terms of a plea agreement, Selph could receive up to 33 months in jail. She promised to repay the government $9,000 and to cooperate in an ongoing investigation.

Prosecutors said Selph was a lieutenant colonel at Camp Victory in Iraq in 2004 and 2005 when she led a committee that awarded the warehouse contracts.

2.

An Army captain based at Fort Lewis is facing charges of conspiracy to accept bribes while serving in Iraq, according to a complaint filed against him in U.S. District Court.

Capt. Cedar Lanmon, 30, has also been charged with importing antiquities and laundering bribe money. He made his first appearance in court on Friday and released on his own recognizance, said assistant U.S. Attorney David Resse Jennings.

Lanmon has not entered a plea and is expected in court Dec. 6 for a preliminary hearing.

Court papers say Lanmon accepted as much as $40,000 in bribes to help Iraqi citizens win U.S. government contracts in Iraq and stole an artifact from an archaeological dig in the city of Ur, reputed to be the home of the biblical figure, Abraham.

The officer also was ordered to stay away from his estranged wife while he awaits the outcome of his case. The case against Lanmon began in September, when his wife contacted Army criminal investigators with information about her husband's alleged bribe-taking in Iraq.

The women told authorities the couple used the proceeds for home-improvement projects, laser eye surgery for her and...