Federal prosecutors have announced the arrest of former Naval Officer Robert P. Burke, 62, on serious bribery charges.
Burke, a retired four-star Navy Admiral, was arrested on Friday. According to the Justice Department, he accepted bribes in exchange for steering government contracts to a company that promised him a lucrative job after his retirement from the Navy.
The indictment reveals that from 2020 to 2022, Burke, who oversaw Naval operations in Europe, Russia, and most of Africa and commanded thousands of civilian and military personnel, conspired with CEOs Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger of “Company A”) that provided a workforce training pilot program to a small component of the Navy from August 2018 through July 2019.
The Navy terminated a contract with Company A in late 2019 and directed Company A not to contact Burke.
Despite the Navy’s instructions, Kim and Messenger allegedly still met with Burke in Washington, D.C., in July 2021, in an effort to reestablish Company A’s business relationship with the Navy.
It is alleged that at the July 2021 meeting, the charged defendants agreed that Burke would use his position as a Navy Admiral to steer a sole-source contract to Company A in exchange for future employment at the company.
Hellbound and Down 