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Defense contractor gets probation in fraud case
A defense contractor facing up to 15 years in prison for accepting a $200,000 kickback got five years of probation Tuesday after a judge applauded his work with federal agents investigating problems with the Congressional earmark process.
Richard S. Ianieri, who pleaded guilty in July, told U.S. District Judge Lacey Collier he hopes to "make amends" for his actions.
"I made a terrible mistake and that weighs on me everyday," Ianieri said.
Collier also ordered Ianieri to pay a $200,000 fine within 90 days and to continue cooperating with the government in its investigation of the earmark process.
Ianieri was the former chief executive of Coherent Systems International Corp., a Pennsylvania-based defense contractor with ties to Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., the former chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. Murtha, who was never charged with criminal wrongdoing in the investigation, died Feb. 8 following complications from gallbladder surgery.