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Russian Group Had $97M Deal With U.S. Missile Defense Agency
The other day we told you about the Russian not-for-profit group that was giving undisclosed payments to the wife of former Rep. Curt Weldon's chief of staff.
Weldon, a Pennsylvania Republican who lost his reelection bid in 2006, had sought federal grants for International Exchange Group, which was run by a Russian with ties to the Kremlin. IEG was involved in "promoting U.S.-Russia business exchange, including nonproliferation issues."
IEG popped up again this week. Over at Wired Sharon Weinberger, who recently co-wrote a book about nuclear weapons, pointed out another connection the group had to the U.S. government.
IEG signed a deal with the U.S. military's Missile Defense Agency back in 2004 promising to provide "Russian radar data" for use with the U.S. missile defense's early warning system.
From Wired:
But the entire structure of IEG was suspect, and smacked of conflict of interest: why should the U.S. government have to pay an openly Kremlin-linked nonprofit in order to ensure government cooperation?
It didn't pass the smell test with upper-level decision makers at the Pentagon, who halted the 2004 deal at the last minute.
Weldon's connection here is unclear. But he has promoted the Russian group and he's also a longtime supporter for the Defense Missile Agency.
Weldon has been under federal investigation for a couple of years concerning his actions on behalf of a natural-gas company, Itera International Energy LLC, which has longstanding connections to alleged Russian organized-crime figures. Weldon just dumped his last $80,000 in campaign money into his legal defense fund.
And the Wall Street Journal reported this week, the probe of Weldon may be "a broader U.S. Justice Department probe into what officials suspect are efforts by Russian-backed firms to gain influence or gather information in Washington."
Republican communists.
June 12, 2008 6:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
But why are my tax dollars buying russian made? Is this just another republican scheme?
How do our troops like using russian made? Are the troops trained by russian personel? Do the russians control their health insurance policies as well? Who is their commander in chief?
And who's farming out for our men and women in uniform?
Do they even know?
June 12, 2008 7:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
This story doesn't make sense on the face of it. Weldon told Weinberger and Hodge that Victor Petrosyan and the IEG were introduced to him by David Vitter and his long time friend, Claude J. Kelly.
Claude Kelly is a federal public defender in Louisiana yet, as he told the WSJ, Petrosyan introduced him to high level Russian officials. Why did Kelly want to meet these people?
Ken Silverstein at Harper's asked how Weldon's chief of staff, James Russell Caso, became involved with IEG since the contract was obtained before Caso joined Weldon's staff in 2004.
Citizen 92 did some research and learned that Caso's wife, the one who actually got paid by IEG, is from Louisiana and the Casos lived there at one point. Did Vitter help Caso land a job with Weldon?
Why did Petrosyan go through Vitter to get to Weldon? Weldon's views on all things Russian were well known. He had made something like 33 trips to Russia, all in all, often accompanied by his pal and business associate, John J. Gallagher.
As Paul Kiel reminded us at ProPublica the other day, Weldon, Delay and Abramoff all had a cozy relationship with Naftasib, the mysterious Russian oil company. As I recall, Naftasib supplied oil to the Russian military.
In 2001, Weldon helped Gallagher, obtain a fraudulent DoE contract to retrain Russian nuclear weapons scientists. At Weldon's behest, Gallagher was appointed to the board of the government-funded United States Industry Council which is supposed to redirect WMD employees in Russia and other countries to civilian employment.
After Gallagher became USIC chairman in early 2002, funding for USIC increased by something like $20 million. As I mentioned elsewhere, part of the deal was that USIC spend a million or two on a trade fair in Philadelphia.
Despite the fact that Gallagher lied to obtain a DoE contract through the USIC, he remains on the board.
Gallagher is still under investigation in the Weldon case. In 10/06, his office in Philadelphia was raided by the FBI.
Prior to joining USIC, Gallagher was involved with helping the Russians set up a mortgage industry in the '90s. He also lobbied for the Russian National Library and for the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy up until 2002 or so.
Weldon visited the Kurchatov Institute at least twice before 2002.
So the IEG didn't Vitter to get to Weldon.
Footnote: Weldon told Weinberger that the IEG had a former member of the CIA who is now an attorney with Shaw Pitman put together the legal proposal for the contract. Charles H. Peterson, an attorney with Shaw Pitman, is legal counsel to the USIC.
The
June 13, 2008 7:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
I also urge readers to look at the International Exchange Group's articles of incorporation in Colorado.
What is unusual about this is Vladimir Petrosyan's address in Federal Way, WA. That addreess is the modest residence of a Seattle-area county school librarian and a county school security guard.
Hardly the company you'd expect a $100m nukes contract to go to.
June 13, 2008 9:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Following on Mrs. Panstreppon's comments, it's always possible that Weldon is lying about the David Vitter connection. It was Weldon who gave the quote in Weinberger's story:
Weinberger also exonerates Feith in that same article. We pretty much know "the dumbest fuc*ing guy on the planet" never met a boondoggle he didn't like. Feith shutting down Weldon may have either been luck, or a lie, or maybe he knew the FBI was investigating Weldon and backed away.
Maybe Weinberger is wrong on both counts?
June 13, 2008 9:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
The property report for that address, indicating that the current owners have been there since 2000. Found some Hungarian and Russian web pages with someone by the same name associated with a tourism/hotel developer, but that might not be relevant.
June 15, 2008 3:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nice avatar, WI. Now if I can convince C92 to do one, scroling comments will be that much faster.
I think Vitter did meet Petrosyan because Claude Kelly told the WSJ about meeting Russian politicians. But it is unlikely that Vitter introduced Petrosyan to Weldon.
Kommersant, the Russian newspaper, reported in 10/06 that Weldon was an IEG founder. Some of the Russian members are FSB, the successor to the KGB.
What we haven't found is Petrosyan's consulting firm which, according to the Caso plea agreement, paid some of the $19k to his wife.
Why register in Colorado unless you are doing business there or want to open a bank account? It is probably a coincidence but the registration for another IEG lapsed a year before Petrosyan registered IEG.
June 15, 2008 10:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Something was going on between Vitter and Weldon because Weldon crony, John J. Gallagher, contributed $1k to Vitter in 10/03. Gallagher was one of only a handful of out-of-state Vitter donors in the '03-'04 election cycle.
June 15, 2008 10:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Duh. I finally enlarged the $97 million IEG contract posted at the Danger Room. Claude Kelly is listed as the IEG rep.
So it looks like Weldon and Gallagher got Vitter to push for the contract and in exchange, Kelly would handle the kickbacks.
June 15, 2008 11:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Caso left Weldon's office to work for a technology firm, Avineon. But most of Avineon's contracts come from the Treasury Dept. unless Avineon has classified defense work.
June 16, 2008 7:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
I re-read the AP story about Caso and Avineon does have contracts with DoD and Homeland Security.
Caso was in the Navy.
June 16, 2008 7:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Caso's bio from a 3/14/07 Federal Computer Week story:
"...Caso has more than 10 years of experience in defense and homeland security policy in the public and private sectors. He most recently spent three years as national security adviser and chief of staff to a former vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security committees. In that position, Caso provided guidance on policy decisions such as weapons system development, acquisition policy, information technology solutions, intelligence reform, innovative research and development funding, and homeland security funding. At Avineon, he will lead business development endeavors with the Defense and Homeland Security departments and will strategize growth prospects.
Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Caso was director of business development at Science and Engineering Associates, where he developed new business opportunities with DOD and DHS. Earlier in his career, Caso was a member of the Navy and worked on the personal staffs of the chief of naval operations and the secretary of the Navy."
June 16, 2008 8:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
Wouldn't you just know it - Russell Caso was Louisiana Young Republican vice-chairman from 2001-2002.
June 16, 2008 8:11 AM | Reply | Permalink