A former vice chief of naval operations was arrested Friday on charges he accepted bribes to steer government contracts to companies in exchange for future work while in office, Department of Justice (DOJ) officials announced. statement.
Former Navy Adm. Robert Burke, 62, of Coconut Creek, Fla., and New York business executives Yong-chol “Charlie” Kim and Megan Messenger were each charged with bribery and bribery conspiracy.Public indictment.
Additionally, Burke is charged with “engaging in conduct intended to affect his personal economic interests and concealing material facts from the United States,” according to a statement from the Department of Justice.
If convicted, Burke faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, and Kim and Messenger each face a maximum sentence of 20 years.
A veteran of attack submarines and ballistic missile submarines, Burke rose through the ranks to become the 40th Vice Chief of Naval Operations in June 2019 and commander of Naval Forces Europe Africa and Allied Forces Command in June 2020.
Meanwhile, Kim and Messenger were co-CEOs of a company the Justice Department calls “Company A,” which provided a talent training pilot program to small Navy units from August 2018 to July 2019.Jump to nextCharlie Kim and Megan Messenger serve as co-CEOs.
The Navy terminated Company A’s contract in late 2019 and instructed it not to contact Burke.
But in July 2021, while Burke was overseeing thousands of Navy civilians and military personnel in Europe and Africa, Kim and Messenger met with Burke in Washington, D.C., to allegedly attempt to re-establish Company A’s business relationship with the Navy, according to the statement.
“At the meeting, the defendants allegedly agreed that Burke would use his position as an admiral to steer an exclusive contract with Company A in exchange for future employment with the company,” the Justice Department said. “Further, they allegedly agreed that Burke would use his official position to influence other naval officers to lobby Company A to award a separate contract to perform a large portion of the Navy’s training, a contract that Kim estimated to be worth ‘millions of dollars.'”
A few months later, in December 2021, Burke allegedly directed Navy staff to award the company a $355,000 contract to train personnel under Burke’s command in Italy and Spain, according to the statement.
Company A then conducted the training in January 2022, shortly after which Burke is said to have unsuccessfully promoted the company and tried to persuade the Admiral to award the company a new contract.
“In order to conceal this scheme, Mr. Burke allegedly made numerous false and misleading statements to the Navy, including falsely creating the impression that Mr. Burke had no involvement in the issuance of the contract and falsely suggesting that employment negotiations between Company A and Mr. Burke began several months after the contract was signed,” the statement said.
After retiring in the summer of 2022, Burke began working at Company A in October of the same year and was granted a salary of $500,000 and 100,000 stock options.
Navy spokesman Rear Adm. Ryan Perry said the Navy has cooperated fully with the investigation since it began.
“We take this matter very seriously and will continue to work with the Department of Justice. As this is ongoing litigation, we would like to reach out to the Department of Justice for any further information regarding this matter,” Perry said in a statement to The Hill.
