Tuesday, May 21, 2013

News
US Army Col. found guilty of fraud; fined


BERLIN (AP) — The former commander of the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade has been found guilty at a court martial of multiple counts of fraud, conduct unbecoming of an officer, bigamy and other charges related to an alleged long-term extra-marital affair with a woman he met in Iraq when they both lived in Europe.

Col. James Johnson III was sentenced Thursday to a $300,000 fine and a formal reprimand, Army spokeswoman Hilde Patton said.

Johnson pleaded guilty to 13 counts and was found guilty of two others by the panel of officers hearing the case in Kaiserslautern.

Johnson made numerous trips to visit the woman in the Netherlands, using official vehicles and government-issued credit cards, arranged official travel for her and married her before being divorced from his own wife.