Poisoning the MREs Americans won't poison

AP:

An employment agency pleaded guilty to falsifying forms to get illegal immigrants jobs at the nation's top producer of U.S. military battlefield rations.

James Echensberger, vice president of San Antonio-based Tollin Group Inc., on Tuesday pleaded guilty on the company's behalf to one count of conspiracy to provide false and fictitious statements during an FBI investigation.

Investigators found that Tollin, which does business as Remedy Intelligent Staffing, was trying to cover up hundreds of fraudulent "I-9" employment eligibility documents. The illegal workers were hired by Wornick Co., which packages high-calorie "meals ready to eat" for troops in Iraq.

The FBI initiated the investigation after an al-Qaida operative arrested in 2003 was found with information indicating that McAllen and Wornick could be terrorist targets. Wornick had a $47 million Department of Defense contract to deliver more than 1.1 million meals between February and May 2003...

Previous report here.

UPDATE: There are many more details in the local report "Company pleads guilty to fraud charges".

10/28/05 UPDATE: This says Tollin (dba "Remedy Intelligent Staffing") got five years of probation, were fined $20,000, and were ordered to pay $414,000 in civil penalties. And, they won't get DoD contracts for three years. It also says the FBI did background checks on all Wornick's employees and found no dirct terrorism links.

Wed, 01/05/2005 - 15:50 · Importance: 1