Charles Darwin's Darwin Awards 
HOME
Darwin Awards
At-Risk Survivors
Slush Pile
2008 April Rejects
The NutCracker
Man harbours building dive wish
Cork boy burned while sniffing petr
Kiwi's can't fly
from darkest africa...
Balcony jumper misses leap
I Believe I can fly
The priest meets the Lord
Things look smaller from a distance
Balcony jumper could not be talked
"Rolling Meth Lab" Explodes; I-10 S
Superman or Superchump?
Balcony jumper could not be talked
Balcony jumper wanted to test himse
3 story fall
Leap from Balcony into Harbour
Man who died below Jenner cliff was
Robber Blows Himself Off The Cliff
Penis Panic
Get A Good Shot
Bermuda, drink, drive, die
Priest missing after balloon-flying
Could have made it!
8th floor leap kills man
Man dies after leap from balcony
Drunk Jump
Dumb Jump
kiwi balcony jump
Eighth Floor Leap
eight floor leap ills man
High Dive Misses
Drunk Jump
Eight floor leap kills man
Another Darwinian
miss judged jump
miss judged jump
Man dies after leap from balcony
Man dies after leap from balcony
Not a great leap for mankind
Harbour jump from the 8th floor
Man dies after leap from balcony
harbour balcony jump goes wrong
Dot the i and you just might die
Two add infos about the priest
Trash Bang
95 proof alcohol and BBQ don't mix
Mower kills Monk
Beat the Priest
The Eco Terrorist of Orcas Island
Man fleeing police 'critical' after
Alleged penis-snatchers spark panic
Closer, Oh God, to Thee
Off-duty officer kills robber at De
Priest gone to Heaven, Literally
Death with party balloons
Death with party balloons
Thief Gets a Charge Out of His Work
Suspected thief set on fire by powe
The Flying Priest
Search suspended for balloon priest
Balloon Stunt Priest Disappears
The gas baloon priest
The Flying Priest
Hearing Impaired?
Priest disappears in the sea
Adelir de Carli - The flier priest
10km Drive on Wrong Side of FreeWay
Brazilian priest in party ballons
Talk about tying one on!
Brazilian balloon priest Fly
The Answer is Blowin' in the Wind
Lawn Chair Larry 2
Seeking Heaven
Flying Priest
The video
Flying Priest Crashes
'Flying' priest's
Brazilian priest lost at sea after
The Flyer Priest
"flying priest"
Flying priest
Priest flying high
Daredevil priest RIP
Priest flies off with party balloon
Lawn Chair Priest
Death by Party Baloons
"The Flying Priest"
The Flying Priest
Helium Propelled Priest
Gone with the wind
Priest Floats to Heaven
Clueless on a Cellphone in Seattle
ANOTHER MOTORCYCLIST DIED AT VICTIM
Success where Lawnchair Larry faile
Brazil priest flying party balloons
hey, it's dark in there!
A father ballonist
Brazilian Priest Gets Lost in Heave
Fly me to the moon
Teen on cell phone killed by train
Priest missing on balloon flight
brazilian Astronaut attempt
Girl killed walking over railroad t
Giving stupid a whole new meaning
Priest attached to party balloons
Flying Priest (MIA in ocean)
Defrauding The US Military
Balloon Priest Vanished
Some never learn
New Helium Balloon record attempt
He tried to reach God, and managed!
Can you hear me now?
Priest balloon ride
Prisoner eats jail food, dies.
enjoy
Cell Phone
Up Up and Away
Balloon Priest
Teen Sneaks Out, Gets Grounded
Road Rage-David Lopez
Catch that train!
Father Mistakes Son for Turkey
Don't Drink and Walk.
Tiger: 1 Photographer 0
Gripped By Gravity
Theft led to man's electrocution
almost dead at 11
Teen killed, driver flees
Toulouse or not Toulouse?
Starbucks Drive Thru Gone Wrong
What could go wrong?
Spider man
Toulouse Plane Crash
Toulouse Plane Crash
YouTube stunt goes very wrong
YouTube stunt goes very wrong
2 guys one horse
Arguing Couple Killed on Tracks
Killed in Masonic Temple
man kills wife in freak diy acciden
man kills wife in freak diy acciden
Victoria Falls
Teens
Very Dumb Kids
HONOURABLE MENTIONIDIOT WITH HAMMER
Couple Dies Arguing On Train Tracks
The last drop
Electrical fault
Report Films Own Death
Thief runs over himself
Thief runs over himself
Truck Thief killed by U-Haul he sto
Large Solid Object Wins Again...
Man killed while beating robber
Body in shaft identified
Body in shaft identified
explosive sex offender
Thief runs over himself
No more room
Couple killed by speeding train
Man Fall to Death After Mets Game
Stolen U-Haul Gone Bad
Truck Thief Dies When it Runs Over
Careful Planning
Unaccustomed Customs
Kid accidently kills himself with g
Man Steals, Gets Run Over By, Truck
Electrocuted stealing live wires
Man runs over own head
Out of the fryingpan into the swamp
St.Louis Man Accidently Shoots Wife
No charges for man who killed wife
Gene pool reduction by shotgun
Grenade thrown in fire kills two te
Teen accidentally shoots self in he
Man jumps of bridge
drunk dies in snow
Man killed by 11,000 volts
3 die evading rescuers in Vermont
Self-inflicted shotgun blast
Police: Man jumps to death, appears
Man driving stolen motorcycle hits
wood chipper confermation
Potty Jumper
'World peace' hitcher is murdered
Dying to go to the toilet
man killed trying steal live cables
Heed the Warning Signs
TURNABOUT IS FAIR PLAY
He Really Relieved Himself
He really relieved himself
Man seeking relief jumps to his dea
man falls to death to take a leak
I 4 jumper
MAN SHOOTS WIFE
Look before you leap!!
Saving the Cable Hook Up Fees
I gotta pee!!
Suicede Bombers say OOPS!!
ME peace activist found dead
Busting for a ...
My candidate for the 2008 award
Copper Theft
a tryer!!
Chipper City Worker in LA
satellite install
Tree Trimming Mishap
Teen Girls Killed in Wreck After At
'I'm fed up . . . kill me."
Girls die setting up cabbie - cops
Fired Up About Satellite TV
Don't distract the driver
The winner of Russian Roulette
Crooks Cut Cabbie and Crash
Teen Girls Killed In Wreck/Robbery
Two women stab cabbie; are then kil
The Criminal Fart
MOTORCYCLE CULLING
A very wrong turn to death
Don't Believe Everything You Read
Missouri Man Fatally Shoots Wife wh
Man Dies Trying to Extract Gold Fro
A man kills himself back home
Man was hit by its own car
Human Klondike Bat
Hat and common sense flew right off
crook dies in duct
Gold in that there computer
Beacon man killed in motorcycle cra
Man dies from mercury poisoning
swiss replica watch
Alligator Attacks Man on Crack
Beer Bottles Strangle Sucker
backpack strangles man
Squaddie injures backside
Man scaling fence strangles in stra
Man scaling fence strangles...
Roof Surfing
There's Mercury in them hills!
Thailand Ladyboys opt for Castratio
Man scaling fence strangles in stra
Man dies in freak accident involvin
Don't drink and climb
Man dies in freak accident involvin
Thief dies in air duct
Dangers of Drinking
Kinky sex game kills father
Man chokes on beer-loaded backpack
Reaching From Heaven
Body in ductwork could be burglar:
Man dies in freak accident involvin
Boy Burrys Head In Sand
Man scaling fence strangles in stra
Man dies in freak accident involvin
A Public Nuisance
Drinking & Climbing Don't Mix
A new way to install satellite
Man dies from mercury poisoning aft
Reaching From Heaven
Man dies in stationary van crash
Man Installing Satellite Kills Wife
Forgot to Swallow
MP argues with Train
Burglar nabbed playing dead
Cyclist hits Van
Schoolboy dies after snorting heroi
Fake seat belt
Man dies from mercury poisoning aft
No helmet motorcycle tow
I-70 pileup a 'war zone'
Siphoning gas while smoking
Man suffers serious burns in blast
Unable to cable = death
Older Rejects 
 
~ Random Story ~
Email Alert!
NEW! Gift Shop
Rules  Search
Contact Darwin
Submit a Story
Philosophy Forum
Home

  

Darwin Awards
2008 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

Defrauding The US Military

2008 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080422.OPTIK22/TPStory/TPInternational/America/

Two Toronto-area executives at the helm of an optical devices company face charges of fraud and conspiracy for allegedly seeking to defraud the U.S. military of up to $11-million on a contract for night-vision goggles destined for Iraq, the U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday.

After a grand-jury indictment, Michael (Mendel) Beker, president and CEO of Newcon Optik Ltd., and Arie Prilik, the company's former vice-president, were charged with two counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

As well, Mr. Beker and Newcon Optik are charged with money laundering.

A spokesman at the Department of Defence was unable to say whether Newcon Optik is a supplier to the Canadian Forces.

Mr. Beker and Mr. Prilik were arrested without incident by York Regional Police on April 11 and April 18, respectively. Mr. Beker was released on $1.6-million bail, while Mr. Prilik remains in custody, a U.S. Justice spokeswoman said.

If convicted, each accused faces potential prison terms of up to 20 years and fines totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The core of the accusation is that they sought to defraud the U.S. Army's Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM), which equips and trains Iraq's fledgling army, by bribing a competitor to withdraw its bid for supplying a shipment of night-vision equipment.

A $50,000 down payment was made, the indictment alleges: "They then envisioned stepping in and supplying TACOM with night-vision goggles at a substantially inflated price."

Newcon Optik, which shares the same mailing address as Newcon International on Toronto's Sparks Avenue, was registered in Ontario in 2006 by Mr. Beker. Newcon International was incorporated in 1992 and bills itself as "one of the world's largest manufacturers of specialty optics outside USA."

Along with night-vision goggles, it also manufactures binoculars and monoculars, weapon scopes, laser rangefinders, speed detectors and thermal imagers.

Newcon's website says it supplies numerous law enforcement agencies and armies worldwide. It is currently ranked as an "official supplier" with the U.S. government's General Services Administration, which oversees the functioning of federal agencies, with a 10-year contract that expires in 2012.

The night vision equipment is manufactured in Russia, according to a description of the company carried by Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Although the two men appear to have addresses in both Toronto and the suburban community of Thornhill, north of Toronto, York police made the arrests because the request came through Interpol "and we maintain an Interpol co-ordinator position, we are one of the only municipal police services in Canada to do so," said Inspector Tom Carrique, who heads York's intelligence section.

A man who answered the telephone at Newcon Optik yesterday gave his name as Alex Beker and described himself as "a relative" of Michael Beker, and said Michael Beker would have no comment.

Mr. Prilik has not worked for Newcon Optik since last year, the man said, and a woman who answered the phone at Mr. Prilik's Thornhill home declined to comment.

Further inquiries were referred to Optik representative Alex Rudiy, who said he did not know whether Newcon has supplied equipment to either the Canadian military or Canadian government. Mr. Rudiy declined all comment on the criminal charges.

The contract for the goggles was one component of a $250-million shipment of assorted military goods for the Iraqi army that was awarded to San Francisco-based American Technologies Network Inc.

The indictment unsealed yesterday by the Department of Justice's antitrust division was returned by a grand jury in December and alleges that over a six-month period beginning in August, 2005, Mr. Beker and Mr. Prilik tried to steer the ATN deal off the rails, initially by feeding TACOM "misleading pretenses, representations, omissions and promises."

Then, the indictment states, the pair contacted ATN and offered to pay the company an initial $50,000 - money that would be wired through the Bank of Nova Scotia and disguised as "a loan" - to abort the deal.

After that, Mr. Prilik allegedly informed TACOM that ATN was unable to go through with the deal, but that Newcon could fill the shortfall "at a substantially higher price."

Submitted on 04/22/2008

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: Globeandmail.com, April 22, 2008

Copyright © 2008 DarwinAwards.com

>> Moderator Scores <<

Bruce said:
Definitely Toss: No Self-Selection
I really don't see what this has to do with the Darwin Awards. This is an article about two executives charged with fraud. There's no removal from the gene pool, no self-selection, etc.


Chip said:
Definitely Toss: No Self-Selection
Thanks for the story but as Bruce said this is merely a crime, not a story of removal from the gene pool.


The Darwin Awards Gift Shop

The Darwin Awards Condom

Keep yourself out of the gene pool!
A condom in a matchbook, useful for emergency contraception, bachelor parties, frat parties, and important rites of passage. LOADED inside and out with funny quotes and stories. Everyone loves this item!
Friends don't let friends reproduce!
$13 for Pack of 4

 

 

Slush Pile
Slush Pile Rejects

HomeRulesFAQsAwardsSlushSite Map
DarwinAward | HonorableMention | PersonalAccount | UrbanLegend