Fraud alleged at SMDC in Huntsville
Posted by BrianA former Space and Missile Defense Command official and his deputy have been charged in a bribery and tax evasion scheme, U.S. Attorney Alice Martin announced today.
Michael Cantrell, 51, of Huntsville, former director of SMDC’s Integrated Capabilities Management Directorate at Redstone Arsenal, was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery and tax evasion. His deputy, Douglas Harry Ennis, 48, of Athens, was indicted on two charges of making false statements on a financial disclosure form to the Army.
Martin said Cantrell, who is cooperating with prosecutors, was charged in a procurement fraud scheme involving contracts with the U.S. Army Space & Missile Defense Command. He also faces the criminal forfeiture of his home in The Ledges subdivision.
“Cantrell corrupted his leadership position by taking $1.6 million in kickbacks to allow certain contractors to perpetrate a massive procurement fraud scheme,” said Martin. “He has been cooperating and we expect other individuals to be charged in the near future.”
I bet this one has legs.
I don’t know what high ranking officials at government agencies make, but I would be shocked if he could have afforded a home in what is probably Huntsville’s priciest community on his government pay alone. If you’re going to (allegedly) steal from the public treasury then don’t make it obvious by living beyond your legitimate means.
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November 2nd, 2007 at 5:26 am
I worked with this guy- I suspected he was a shady character all along and something I did probably got this investigation started. There is no question in my mind that these charges (and MANY more) are true. He even had his wife working (almost) directly for him.
November 2nd, 2007 at 10:09 am
“Officials declined to name any of the contractors involved.”
“I bet this one has legs.”
Yup. I wonder which contractor(s) is(are) involved.
November 2nd, 2007 at 7:13 pm
‘The Huntsville Times’ reports:
[QUOTE]Michael L. Cantrell, 51, of Huntsville is charged with conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery and tax evasion while he worked for the Army Space and Missile Defense Command.
His former deputy, Douglas Harris Ennis, 48, of Athens, was also indicted Thursday on two counts of making false statements to the Army on a financial form.
…
The indictment says Ennis took $3,500 from Nikunj Shah on June 13, 2002, and $75,000 in currency from unidentified subcontractors and vendors in the summer of 2004.[/QUOTE]
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/119400571113580.xml&coll=1
November 2nd, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Snake - since you had some knowledge of the admitted thief do you have any ideas what contractors were involved?
November 3rd, 2007 at 5:46 am
Brian-
No- but I am sure several will be affected
November 3rd, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Snake, what will this most likely mean to the contractors paying off Cantrell? What will be their penalty?
November 3rd, 2007 at 9:22 pm
I also found this contract from the same SMDC group (previous name) to a “Maximum Technology Corporation” for a total of a little over $700k.
November 4th, 2007 at 7:57 am
I’d guess almost immediate loss of any work with SMDC
November 5th, 2007 at 8:48 am
To Snake: I’d like to shake your hand! Good job! There is so much corruption with high dollar contracts. I’ve put in a complaint about Govt employee’s taking high dollar gifts but it got dismissed and swept under the rug. Must have been a payoff. Meanwhile our taxes keep going up and these characters keep living in luxury not to mention that our defense suffers! I’m so disgusted with these people. They should be locked up forever as far as I’m concerned!
November 5th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
I always heard that attorney Mark McDaniel’d dad or in- law was a big wig on the arsenal and all the companies wanted contracts put Mark on retainer for $1k per month to help out back when he was fresh outa law school.
January 15th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
[...] Fraud alleged at SMDC in Huntsville [...]
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:10 pm
That thing about Mark McDaniel is a lie I can assure you. He is a criminal defense and personal injury attorney, not a corporate attorney. I should know, I am an attorney in his firm.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:58 am
Another thing that proves the Mark McDaniel rumor untrue is that his father retired and started his own business before Mark McDaniel’s law firm opened. At that point his father was competing with other companies for contracts. If dan knew anything about the humble beginnings of the firm he would laugh at 1K retainers from companies. No, McDaniel built his practice from the ground up by doing appointed criminal cases with no help from his father or anyone else for that matter. What dan always heard was a complete lie fueled by those who are jealous of success.