Guardsmen charged in contract bribery case
Stephen sends us links to the Justice Department announcement that four high ranking military officers of the National Guard have been indicted for their participation in a bribery scheme designed to steer government contracts to their company, MPSC;
Edwin Stuart Livingston III, 67, of The Villages, Florida; Ronald Joseph Tipa, 68, of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida; Thomas Edward Taylor, 66, of Alexandria, Virginia; and Ross Bernard DeBlois Sr., 55, of Fairfax Station, Virginia, are each charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, one count of bribery of a public official, one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and five counts of honest services fraud.
According to the indictment, Livingston, Tipa, Taylor and John Jones, 77, a retired brigadier general from the New York Army National Guard, each owned 25 percent of MPSC and constituted MPSC’s Board of Directors. DeBlois was the company’s CEO.
[…]
According to the allegations in the indictment, in 2010 or 2011, Livingston and Tipa offered Robert Porter, 50, who then was an active-duty colonel in the Army National Guard who held a high-level position at the NGB, a deal in which MPSC would pay Porter 1 percent of the value of all contracts he steered to MPSC. The indictment alleges that Porter was to receive the bribe payment after he retired from the NGB and began working for MPSC, and that the payment was to be concealed as an “incentive fee” or “bonus” payment in MPSC payroll records.
According to the indictment, during 2011 and 2012, Porter allegedly steered at least three NGB marketing contracts to MPSC, which were worth a total of approximately $5.5 million. The indictment alleges that, during a July 2014 meeting of MPSC’s board of directors, DeBlois confirmed that three contracts were awarded to MPSC while Porter was “in uniform.” Thereafter, Livingston, Tipa, Taylor and Jones allegedly unanimously voted to make the promised bribe payment to Porter. The indictment further alleges that, between July and September 2014, MPSC made three payments to Porter, each for over $10,000.
Additionally, a National Guard active duty Sergeant First Class, Jason Rappoccio, was sentenced the other day to forty-two months in prison for taking bribes for steering government money to his friends;
In connection with his guilty plea, Rappoccio admitted to accepting a $30,000 bribe from Timothy Bebus, a retired sergeant major of the Minnesota Army National Guard and owner of Mil-Team Consulting and Solutions LLC (Mil-Team). In exchange, Rappoccio agreed to steer a $3.6 million contract to Mil-Team by awarding the contract to a Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) certified company, chosen by Bebus, that Rappoccio understood would sub-contract a portion of the work to Mil-Team.
Rappoccio admitted that the $30,000 bribe was structured to conceal the payment. Specifically, Bebus gave $6,000 in cash directly to Rappoccio, and the remaining $24,000 was paid in a cashier’s check in the name of Rappoccio’s wife.
Rappoccio also admitted to accepting additional benefits in exchange for steering an additional $4 million contract to Mil-Team. In particular, Rappoccio solicited and received from Bebus airline tickets for two of Rappoccio’s family members. He also received NFL tickets worth over $1,300 from another co-conspirator.
I wonder how the four officers will fare in court as compared to the former sergeant.
Category: National Guard
No need to worry, if the SFC got 42 months all the officers will spend at least 42 minutes in court before acquittal.
it must be hard living off of that retired O6 and O7 retirement in Florida. Asshats.
I wonder how well Porter sleeps at night now that Chuck is gone?
Rob learmed his craft from Sines.
This is some Commander Phil Monkress type of shit. And they’re from Flordia no less. Maybe they participated in the All Points Logitics Lie, Cheat, and Steal program. Phildo must be so proud.
I was starting to worry as I read through the item that only commissioned trash were being indicated, but my faith in mankind was restored when a retired Sergeant Major was nailed for bribery. If it were more stupid stuff involving gratuitous sex and booze, a CWO would have been in the mix.
Club I had to laugh at the gratuitous sex and booze line. I do believe that is the 1st Gen Order at WOCC Ft Rucker, Al AKA The most depressing six weeks known to mankind!
Don’t fret, this isn’t over yet. There was at least one retired CWO who was a senior executive at MPSC.
The CWO is back in Arkansas continuing as a contractor
Yes he is. I’ve heard rumor that the MPSC Four were found not guilty. I don’t know if it’s true or not yet. If it is, it was likely on a technicality since there were recorded conversations and email implicating all four in the bribe scheme.
Yes. Tipa, Livingston, Taylor and DeBlois were all found not guilty on all counts in a unanimous decision by a Jury Trail that lasted over two weeks. You should really be careful as to what you post. Most of your blogs are very short sighted and lack any sort of credibility. You think what you read is cumulative of all the facts surrounding the case. If you believe that, I am only convinced of one thing. You are one short sighted individual and it must suck not being able to see two feet in front of you. I would shit this thing down because your opinions on the MPSC case as compared to its outcome makes you look like a real ass clown. God help me if I ever fall under your leadership!
TONY180A….How could you say that with all the happening events going on in this area? Man, did you never make it outside the Daleville area gate? Such an interesting junk place immediately on your left. Up until about a year ago, almost directly across the street was a military surplus outlet shop. Owner looked and acted like Sad Sack. The entire store was one big dump. Everything was strewn about, nothing made sense, hardly anything could be found where you would expect it. Funniest or all was the owner who made a person think of an unshaven Archie Bunker….including attitude.
Porter got 90 days, SFC got 3.5 yrs hmmmmmmm SFC worked for Bebus when Bebus was Sgt Major on active duty, then SFC transferred to VA where he worked in marketing. (small military world) Bebus retired and began his work with his contracting team, took advantage of his friendship with the SFC and personal situation the SFC was in. SFC was screwed over big time, the facts were not straight on the internet about the SFC either. My question is Why hasn’t Bebus the Sgt Major been sentenced yet?
Thought Porter had not been sentenced yet. Where did you see “90 days”?
I haven’t heard that Porter was sentenced. It was supposed to be in January but it was delayed. LTC (R) Russell was sentenced to 90 days. I’m guessing his sentence was light because he was an incompetent criminal.
Porter may get off light because he’s been a government informant. He, BG Jones, and all the COLs should spend a long time in jail. They are all thieves and frauds. Any of the retirees who took bribes while on active duty, should be called back to active duty, face a court martial and lose their pensions.
All of these guys are so corrupt that it wouldn’t take much to make a RICO case out of it. This has probably been going on since Taylor was the RR Division Chief.
Sounds like you worked in recruiting too. They’re all a disgrace to the uniform.
WF, no I wasn’t but a couple of the people involved in this bribery scandal tried to get me there. A mentor advised me not to work with any of the now retired Colonels.
That section has been dirty for nearly 20 years. All are a disgrace to the uniform.
Sentenced on 11 Sept 2015, SGM Bebus will spend a total of three years in prison and three years on supervised probation. His sister/accomplice got four months in prison, then eight months of home detention. How the SGM got less time than the SFC when the SGM proposed the scheme to the SFC is beyond me.
AB,
Rappoccio wasn’t smart in many ways in others, his timing was bad. Rappoccio (and Sines) stupidly fought original charges. When he did that, others who took a deal, got a better deal.
Bebus was the first to cop a plea and work with the government. Bebus got a deal for first bringing down down Porter and Rappoccio. Porter brought down Sines, Jack Jones, Ed Livingston, Ross Deblois, and Tom Taylor at MPSC.
His very poor decision to fight the charges, in which he was clearly guilty, Rappoccio had very little to offer. It could have been much worse for him and his wife, who accepted at least one of the bribe payments.
The thieves at MPSC should get the stiffest sentences of all. Their company was founded on these kinds of illegal actions. Taylor, Sines, Deblois, and Porter all came from the same functional area (G1) of the ARNG, with the exception of Sines all went on to MPSC. They’ve been fixing much more than one contract for $5M.
JT21,
It’s clear you do not know all of the details, SFC was never part of the bribery scheme in the first place. When Bebus was told he could get a lighter sentence, by bringing others down was when he initiated the offers to SFC his “best friend” for over 8 years. He took advantage of him by offering to pay off his arrearage in child support since his exwife was currently at that time taking him to court. The football tickets were not correctly reported and neither were the plane tickets. SFC never knew the tickets to either were purchased for him, they were offered to him as a friend. Plain ticket was one ticket, he had supposedly purchased with his frequent flyer miles. It wasn’t until SFC was arrested and the indictment was read that he learned the plane ticket was purchased and the football tickets were purchased. He didn’t take his family to the game, he took the children of a deployed soldier to watch the game. SGM admitted offering the items to him that SFC never once asked for anything. SFC was going to fight it because it was entrapment. However, he also knows the fact is you never take money or gifts from coworkers so he changed to a plea deal, that’s smart after thinking things through. The wife had no clue of the details except knowing it was money to pay off his child support so to insinuate she also accepted a bribe payment would be false information.
MAD you must be a friend who hasn’t read his plea the he signed. He admitted to taking the money $30K, to influence the award of contract to Mil-Team. He stated under oath that he took the money, tickets, and other items of value in return for influencing those contracts. If he is changing his story now, he’s in violation of his plea agreement.
Now why would Bebus, if he was giving money to help Rappoccio out with no strings attached, have his sister route the $24K check through her sister and then make it out to Rappoccio’s wife? He was doing one of two things, neither of them legal. He was either hiding it from the IRS, which is unlikely since the bank had to report it. Or, he was taking it as a payment for fixing the contract. That is very likely since both checks totaling $30K were issued within weeks of Bebus winning the contract. And for the record, Bebus admitted that all funds and tickets were given to Rappoccio in exchange for fixing the contract award.
Here is what else I know. Rappoccio is just another in a long line of current and future felons from the ARNG G1. Tipa taught Taylor who to rig the game. Taylor taught Sines. Sines taught Porter and Porter taught Rappoccio. They’ve been fixing contracts for years. They only just got caught.
Your loyalty to Rappoccio would be honorable if Rappoccio were. However, Rappoccio has been living beyond his (and his wife’s) means for a long time. He hid the money because he was taking it as a bribe. He needs to serve his sentence. He, Porter, Taylor, Bebus, Jones, DeBlois, Tipa, and Livingston have brought disgrace and dishonor to all of those who wear or wore the uniform.
Jt21,
I read it, I read everything. He had no choice but to take a plea deal. Also the date of the contract were all done but signed before bebus offered to pay off his exwife. But he took the money prior to the deal being closed so it appeared to be what it appeared to be. You are also someone close to this group. What makes you think SFC was living outside his means? I do believe his wife was employed. What was so lavish about them? They didn’t receive continuous payments, or have their boat payments paid like others in this case did. Bebus only trapped Rappoccio last minute to get a lighter sentence.
If he did nothing wrong, then he’s dumber than I thought. He had plenty of time between his indictment and plea bargain to fight any entrapment.
Your tale is convenient but inaccurate. Again, if the money was simply a gift or loan from a friend, there was no reason for Bebus to run it through his sister, her brother-in-law and then to Rappoccio’s wife. The only reason they did that was to hid the money.
As NCOs in their respective services, it’s easy to know what they make and what kind of life they can afford. Another way to know how they were living beyond their means was their property forfeiture.
Bebus didn’t entrap anyone. In fact, Porter also stated the Rappoccio was part of the scheme. Porter had nothing to gain by implicating Rappoccio, as Porter was in the process of bringing down MPSC’s leadership.
Rappoccio is not just dirty, he’s convicted by his own admission. If the world is right, he’s not only going to jail but he will discharged from the Army without pension or any other benefits. He and the others are a disgrace to the uniform.
You still haven’t said how SFC was living outside his means? You must be a personal ex friend. There is nothing showing they live outside their means, they have nothing to forfeit either. Who knows why bebus had the money sent from his sister, probably because she was his little secretary. Routing it to his wife isn’t hiding it from anyone if they shared a bank account like most spouses do. Bebus and Rappoccio had been friends for years dating back to Minnesota. Bebus was his Sgt. Mjr at one time. Rappoccio had no choice to plea guilty. You can’t except gifts from anyone you work with in the military over a certain dollar amount. Bebus also admitted that Rappoccio never asked for anything. Bebus admitted to offering him everything. He mistake was taking it during a vulnerable time his exwife had him pinned down in court . You don’t have all the facts. He will serve his time, but the one who deserves double what he got is Bebus. Not sure where that document is saying he was sentenced but the research in the court I did shows he has not been sentenced yet. I would still like to know where you get he and his spouse were living outside their means, I knew them well enough that they barely made ends meet.
Dogs, fleas, you know the rest of the saying.
Well, that fact that two senior NCOs were barely making ends meet is a great example of living beyond their means. Their combined salaries are enough that they shouldn’t be struggling.
Come on now, you know why the money was broken out in separate allotments and routed like it was. It wasn’t just routed through Bebus’s sister. It went through her, then her brother-in-law, and then it went to Rappoccio’s wife. If it was a loan or gift for his ex-wife, why give it to the current wife. In fact, why give it to Rappoccio at all. Why not send it directly to the ex? No. It wasn’t a friend helping a friend. It was a business owner fixing a contract and then covering the audit trail or at least trying to.
Rappoccio took the money to fix the contract. He allocuted to that. Upon receiving initial bribes, he asked for more to fix other contracts. Again, he not only admitted to that but Porter and Bebus testified to it.
If you’re a friend of Rappoccio, he’s handing you a line. He’s also in violation of his plea agreement if he’s saying such things. Rappoccio’s dirty and he took bribes to fix contracts.
I do agree that Bebus, Porter and the ring of felons at MPSC should get more time than Rappoccio. Regardless, they are all disgrace to the uniform and I hope none of them gets to keep their pensions and they all deserve to go to jail for a long time.
I just stumbled on this website and you all should be ashamed of yourselves for not knowing what the hell you are doing! This is a blog where anyone including kids can google and read your moronic comments. If anyone is closest to the truth it’s the mad person. To Jt, you really should shut your damn mouth. It sounds to me you are a military member who has worked with one or all. You don’t know crap! Talk about dirty? You are just as dirty to not put your real name out here and be a real man or woman! You are dirty for smashing someone who was entrapped! Oh by the way, I am Rappoccio’s wife, no I’m not a senior nco, no we do not live beyond our means you moron! We live in a mobile home within our means, we have one car! We have 5 kids, my husband pays child support of 1109 a month. You explain to me how you know so much about our finances???? Go ahead? Tell me? Since you’re so smart and no so much! There is no brother in law in this picture you have issues! Bebus WAS a family friend for years!!!! He offered several times to help Jason with his exwife! It had nothing to do with his job! Jason turned him down. My husband accepted his gift and had him make the check to me because I do our finances I pay his attorney for his court case with his exwife! I wasn’t hiding a damn thing because it was a gift and that was sent to me. I paid Jason’s attorney why would someone they don’t know pay the attorney it couldn’t be paid directly to the exwife. Just because a piece of paper says he has money to forfeit doesn’t mean he does! He has nothing!!! So there is nothing for him to forfeit! So again Jt tell me how we live outside our means????? Tell me why you want to be so nosey and thrive over someone’s mistake? My husband trusted Bebus as a… Read more »
It’s nobody fault but your husbands. All involved are a disgrace to the uniform.
WILDFLOWER,
I’m pretty sure i know who your jealous fake good for nothing excuse of an nco is. To scared to leave your real name because your active duty. I get it. you think its all my husbands fault? Thats pretty dumb. Like I already said how mature of any of you to have this blog where all his teenage kids can read this. You all want to bash my husband, but keep the rest hush hush….That’s alright. Everyone makes mistakes. however when they keep making them like you do, its a choice and I guess you weren’t raised right.
JT21,
It’s clear you do not know all of the details, SFC was never part of the bribery scheme in the first place. When Bebus was told he could get a lighter sentence, by bringing others down was when he initiated the offers to SFC his “best friend” for over 8 years. He took advantage of him by offering to pay off his arrearage in child support since his exwife was currently at that time taking him to court. The football tickets were not correctly reported and neither were the plan tickets. SFC never knew the tickets to either were purchased for him, they were offered to him as a friend. Plain ticket was one ticket, he had supposedly purchased with his frequent flyer miles. It wasn’t until SFC was arrested and the indictment was read that he learned the plain ticket was purchased and the football tickets were purchased. He didn’t take his family to the game, he took the children of a deployed soldier to watch the game. SGM admitted offering the items to him that SFC never once asked for anything. SFC was going to fight it because it was entrapment. However, he also knows the fact is you never take money or gifts from coworkers so he changed to a plea deal, that’s smart after thinking things through. The wife had no clue of the details except knowing it was money to pay off his child support so to insinuate she also accepted a bribe payment would be false information.
Well, the O-6s were all found “not guilty” on all counts. Unanimous jury decision. Wow….
All four defendants not guilty all counts. April 25, 2016.
Yes. Tipa, Livingston, Taylor and DeBlois were all found not guilty on all counts in a unanimous decision by a Jury Trail that lasted over two weeks. You should really be careful as to what you post. Most of your blogs are very short sighted and lack any sort of credibility. You think what you read is cumulative of all the facts surrounding the case. If you believe that, I am only convinced of one thing. You are one short sighted individual and it must suck not being able to see two feet in front of you. I would shut this thing down because your opinions on the MPSC case as compared to its outcome makes you look like a real ass clown. God help me if I ever fall under your leadership!
The fact that you are defending those four, and yes I know them, tells me that you know nothing of credibility or leadership. They beat the charges for sure. None of those men are good leaders, they completely lack leadership qualities, regardless of their rank at retirement.
After re-reading my email, I don’t see anything I wrote that specifically points to me defending these men. I was simply pointing out that you have some very baseless opinions that were clearly off target given the results of their Trial. Again, very short sighted. I would think that one element of leadership would be having the ability to not jump to conclusions. Something you clearly did. And I am also pretty certain that being credible would mean having your facts straight. Something you clearly didn’t. So if you are going to just toss people into the pool of leadership inability, regardless of rank, you might as well jump right in.
Not baseless, just not convicted. I’ve seen the emails of DeBlois authorizing the payments to Porter. The taped discussions of Livingston and Tipa, approving the payments to Porter. Jones admitted to it, along with the involvement of the other four. They got off, for whatever reasons. It means they weren’t convicted, not that they did nothing wrong. OJ got off, who thinks he’s innocent?
I’ve had the unfortunately pleasure of knowing these men for years. One of them tried to get me to work for him. They played on the margins in uniform, no reason to think they didn’t do so out of uniform. They are not convicted but they are a disgrace nonetheless.