'Flight Risk' and 'Dangerous' -- But Judge Loosens Bail For CEO of DHB Ind.

Source: WNBC

POSTED: 4:10 pm EDT June 17, 2008


NEW YORK -- Just days after a convicted CEO faked his own death and fled to avoid prison, a federal judge on Long Island reduced bail conditions for a separate accused corporate crook even though prosecutors maintain he is a "flight risk" and "dangerous."

Judge Joanna Seybert reduced restrictive bail conditions for David Brooks, who ran DHB Industries -- a company that sold bulletproof vests to the military.

Brooks is accused of looting funds and committing securities fraud to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Prosecutors said he then funneled his ill-gotten gains to accounts overseas.

Even though Seybert called Brooks a "danger to the community" because of past threats he allegedly made, she agree to loosen his home confinement. Her new order allows Brooks to leave his Manhattan home unescorted between the hours of 9 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Read more: http://www.wnbc.com/investigations/16634682/detail.html

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Is this any way to support the troops?
NBC did a report tonight of the U.S. Army's refusal to switch from Interceptor body armor, which has been in use for decades, to state-of-the art "dragon skin" armor, made by a company called Pinnacle, which in March of 2006 was banned by the Army for use by its soldiers, two months before it was tested, and even though top generals and other dignitaries were knowingly protected by troops who were issued dragon skin, and the CIA also issued the superior dragon skin to its operatives in Iraq. Even the inventor of the Interceptor armor told NBC that dragon skin is far superior to his design, because it's flexible and covers more of the body's vital parts, and that if he were deployed to combat, he'd choose dragon skin.

After listening to the report on Countdown, I decided to do a little bit of digging. What I found is nothing new, just as the reports of our troops being issued defective body armor isn't new (not least to the troops themselves). But new or not, here it is:

Interceptor body armor is manufactured by a company called Point Blank Body Armor, which is a division of DHB Industries out of right down here in Pompano Beach, Florida (they also have offices in Deerfield Beach, Oakland Park, Jacksboro, TN and Washington D.C).

DHB has a retired 4 star general as its president, a retired California State Senator (William Campbell) as its chairman of the board, and as of March of this year, and a retired Marine general (Lt. Gen. Martin Berndt) as one of its directors. The company announced that it had received some $248 million in contracts to supply the U.S. Army with body armor. According to a January press release:


January 16, 2007

DHB INDUSTRIES ANNOUNCES $82 MILLION IN CONTRACT ORDERS WITH THE U.S. ARMY AND UPDATES 2006 CASH RECEIPTS

Pompano Beach, Florida – DHB Industries Inc. (OTC Pink Sheets: DHBT.PK), a leader in the field of protective body armor, announced today that it had received orders for approximately $82 million to supply the U.S. Army with the Deltoid Axillary Protection System (DAPS) and the Enhanced Side Ballistic Insert (ESBI). These orders came under contracts awarded to Point Blank Body Armor, one of the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries.

New Orders

The Company received an order of approximately $51 million to supply the United States Army with DAPS. The Company anticipates it will begin shipping product against this new order in May 2007 and complete shipments in October 2007. This order is part of the approximately $239 million contract awarded in June 2004, which was subsequently modified to approximately $248 million. Potential orders now remaining on the DAPS three-year contract are about $67 million.
Oh, and the DHB in DHB Industries? It stands for David H. Brooks. A bit about him:
From an article by Katrina Vanden Heuvel published in The Nation on my birthday in 2005:

more:
http://blog.reidreport.com/2007/05/is-this-any-way-to-support-troops.html

and I don't know enough about it in detail to go there, but if the Interceptor product is good, we should use it. If the company president is screwing us we should put him in jail, but that shouldn't detract from the product (given how few alternatives there are). That said, I'm sure there are plenty of people who can run that company more legitimately.

Because it is better. Even the inventor of The Interceptor armor says so. It is controversial because a lot of CYA players in the Pentagon, who awarded the contracts, are loathe to revisit said contracts.

Dragon Skin is clearly superior protection.

I was just putting out a disclaimer that I didn't know enough to argue about the merits of one kind of armor over another.

That said, NO company should be ripping off the gov't to that degree, product quality aside. I'm just saying, forget the argument over the merits of the product and just focus on their ethical behavior (such as it is). If he's overcharging and sending overseas, particular money of that quantity, I don't give a goddamn if he invented the cure for cancer. He needs to be held to justice just like you or I would.

I wonder if you'd sing the same tune if your ass depended on it.

I would like them to have the best safety equipment available. But this is turning from a discussion of how someone overbilled the army and shoved money away into a discussion of the merits of the product WHICH I DON'T FRICKIN' KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT TO VENTURE AN OPINION ON. What is the discussion? Scamming the government or how good their product is? Even if he was in charge of whatever company it is that makes Dragon Skin it still wouldn't be acceptable to let him overcharge like that and squirrel money away.

Let's try to confine ourself to the question at hand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS0pSwdQfbY

Clearly superior. And the general that wrote the letter outlawing DS for the troops was invested in it's competition.

They also threatened the death benefits of soldiers injured or killed wearing DS.

so this guy fakes his own death, is deemed a "danger to the community" because of past threats he allegedly made and he's still allowed to leave his home confinement. what a fucking wonderful country we live in. good thing he wasn't in possession of a little weed, otherwise he'd be rotting in a cell.

He's not the guy who faked his death. A couple of days ago, it was another CEO, in business with the chimps cousin.

This is the same clown who threw a $16 million birthday party for his daughter.

it's what's for dinner! i'll need to do a reread.