Blackwater Executives Get Slap on Wrist in 6-Year Criminal Case

Blackwater Executives Get Slap on Wrist in 6-Year Criminal Case


Former leaders of the security firm once known as Blackwater have avoided serious punishment following a plea deal with the U.S. Department of Justice.

In 2010, federal prosecutors charged five ex-Blackwater executives with violating U.S. firearms laws, filing false statements and obstructing justice. The case grew out of the 2008 conviction of two former Blackwater employees who helped the Justice Department build its case.

But last week the government gave up on the case, and dropped all charges against three of the defendants. The two remaining defendants, Gary Jackson and William Mathews Jr., pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor weapons recordkeeping charge.

They were sentenced to three years probation, four months of house arrest, and a $5,000 fine. They had originally been indicted on multiple felony charges, for which they could have served decades in prison. Several of the charges dealt with the gifting of personal firearms to King Abdullah of Jordan and his entourage while the company was trying to win a security contract. Others related to the seizure automatic weapons that exceeded Blackwater’s legal limit. Blackwater officials claimed they were just storing the weapons for the Camden County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina.

http://www.allgov.com/news/controversies/blackwater-executives-get-slap-on-wrist-in-6-year-criminal-case-130228?news=847212