Lejeune Marine pleads guilty to seeking bribes

Raleigh, N.C. — A Camp Lejeune Marine pleaded guilty Tuesday to soliciting bribes from defense contractors while deployed in Iraq, authorities said.

Gunnery Sgt. Julio Arreola, 36, pleaded guilty to demanding and seeking a bribe. He is expected to be sentenced in May, when he faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Arreola was assigned to the I Marine Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Group, Engineer Company, at Camp Fallujah in Iraq, where he supervised construction projects. According to federal authorities, he solicited a bribe from Davut Construction and Services Co. sometime around June 2008, telling company officials that he would recommend the military buy goods from Davut in exchange for a kickback.

He told the company to inflate the prices it charged the Defense Department and give him the difference in cash, authorities said.

"It is disheartening when a military member abandons his code of conduct and violates a position of trust for personal enrichment," John Khin, special agent-in-charge of the Southeast Field Office of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, said in a statement.

5 Comments

WRAL.com welcomes your comments on this story. All comments are moderated prior to publication based on our posting guidelines. Please review them prior to posting and if your message is not approved.

5 COMMENTS

This story is closed for comments. Comments on WRAL.com news stories are accepted and moderated between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Latest Comments

Greed rules! He should run somewhere for public office.

wayneboyd
January 30, 2013 4:31 p.m.

Treat the crooks in Washington to the same punishment. At least they aren't having to work in a war zone.

itlsss
January 30, 2013 8:33 a.m.

Waste of air letting him breath. I retired from the Military, he is a total disgrace to all military and his family

eoglane
January 29, 2013 6:21 p.m.

Bust him all the way down to Private and Dishonorable Discharge to boot.