PORTLAND - An Ashland defense contractor acknowledged Monday [April 18, 2016] that he bribed a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers program manager to secure $171 million in contracts over a decade.

The 73-year-old contractor, who goes by the singular name Sky, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy and could face a maximum of five years in prison at his Oct. 11 sentencing. Lawyers for both sides indicated a sentence of about two years is more likely.

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Huntsville, Alabama In an announcement posted on April 15, the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center Huntsville announced their intent to extend the existing Small Business Worldwide Environmental Remediation Services (WERS) contracts by three years. This represents a 60% increase in the total contract period of performance, thus providing an eight year contract for the existing seven small business contract holders.

By policy / design the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) limits the bulk of the UXO work to 'Munitions Design Centers' - considering that each Design Center has major large scale multi-year contracts (e.g., WERS, MAMMS, MEGA) there are only a few USACE contract opportunities that open up over the years as is. Extending one of those major contracts by 60% to only the current seven contractors / teams by three years not only impacts other small business trying to grow, and essentially provides an un-fair competitive advantage for future opportunities to those companies fortunate enough to obtain eight straight years of experience with Huntsville.

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The scope of the contracts to be awarded are for "various Military Munitions (MM) & Environmental Remediation Services in support of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Baltimore District MM Design Center as well as the Baltimore Districts MM remedial and removal missions. The primary focus of the MAMMS contracts is on "environmental projects that are contaminated with Munitions and Explosives of Concern (MEC) or Munitions Constituents (MC)". A summary of the anticipated small business set-aside and unrestricted awards under MAMMS is provided below.

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Businesses must be able to perform all aspects of MMRP and HTRW. Projects may occur at sites located in the continental United States and outside the continental United States. Overseas operations also include logistical support and security operations for personnel, materials and equipment in dangerous areas or war zones.

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