Washington: "Threeformer US army officers andtwo civilians have been charged with stealing reconstruction funds meant for Iraq and takingbribes from a contractor in a scheme involving millions of dollars," said USGovernment. 

A grand jury in Trenton, New Jersey, Wednesday indicted the defendants on chargesof bribery, fraud and money laundering in the scheme they allegedly ran insouth-central Iraqfrom December 2003 to December 2005, the Justice Department said.

Working out of the Hillah branch of the former CoalitionProvisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq,the three officers and others awarded more than $8.6 million in riggedrebuilding contracts to an associate in return for more than $1 million inbribes, the indictment alleges.

The contractor, UScitizen Philip H. Bloom, also laundered more than $2 million in cash earmarkedfor Iraqreconstruction that the defendants and others stole from the CPA, the indictmentsays.

Bloom is accused of handing out more than $1 million in cashand items such as sports cars, jewelry, computers, airline tickets and liquorto the others.

"This indictment alleges that the defendants flagrantlyenriched themselves at the expense of the Iraqi people ­ the very people theywere there to help," said US Deputy Attorney General McNulty, the nation'snumber-two law enforcement official.

The CPA was set up by the United States after the March 2003 US-led invasion of Iraqto run the country after the ouster of Saddam Hussein. It has been widelyaccused of waste and mismanagement.

Defendants include US Army Colonel Curtis G. Whiteford, oncethe Hillah office's second-most senior official; Lieutenant Colonel Debra M.Harrison, who once oversaw spending of the office's reconstruction funds; andLieutenant Colonel Michael B. Wheeler, an adviser for CPA reconstruction inIraq.

Also indicted were Harrison's husband William Driver, whoallegedly laundered money in the scheme, and Michael Morris, a US citizen in Romania who runs a Cyprus-basedfinancial services firm. 

"In the scheme, Harrison and Driver allegedly receiveda Cadillac SUV as a bribe and used tens of thousands of dollars forimprovements to their home in Trenton.Whiteford allegedly received at least $10,000 in cash, a $3,200-watch and a joboffer from Bloom," the Justice Department said.

No trial date has been set for the five defendants.