The LA Times reports:
Halliburton Co. executives ordered a big-screen television and 10 large tubs of tacos, chicken wings and cheese sticks delivered to Iraq for last year’s Super Bowl, then billed U.S. taxpayers for their party, according to a lawsuit unsealed Friday.The Houston-based company also defrauded the government by double- and triple-billing for Internet, food and gym services for soldiers, according to the lawsuit by a former employee for KBR, the Halliburton subsidiary that runs dining halls for troops in Iraq.
Just to be clear: American taxpayers paid for Halliburton executives in Iraq to watch the Super Bowl on a big-screen TV. And eat their favorite comfort foods.
Perhaps more alarming, the LATimes story says that the lawsuit which brought this little fiesta to light is just one of “several dozen” that have been filed by U.S. citizens, all charging companies with war profiteering in Iraq.
The details of the other cases are being kept from the public until the Justice Department decides whether it wants to be join the suit against the alleged war profiteers. Such cases can be kept secret almost indefinitely as long as the Justice Department claims it can’t make up its mind — which means taxpayers could wait months or years before hearing stories like the Halliburton Super Bowl party.