YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — A former high-ranking 8th Army contracting official was sentenced to 18 months in prison for illegally revealing contract bids, court records released last week show.
The Aug. 11 sentencing of Ronald A. Parrish in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., brings to an end the prosecution of five Americans and one Korean involved in a bribery scam meant to net a U.S. Army colonel $900,000.
Parrish, who was Contracting Command Korea’s contract support division chief, was charged with illegally disclosing contract bids to provide a competitive edge to another bidder, according to a federal indictment. The former head of the command, Col. Richard J. Moran, was sentenced June 9 to 54 months in prison for accepting bribes from South Korean companies in exchange for favorable treatment. His wife, Gina Cha Moran, was sentenced to two years’ probation for making a false statement to investigators.
Prosecutors contended that Moran directed Parrish to disclose bid information on a computer contract to Richard L. Carlisle, an Indiana businessman. Carlisle was sentenced Aug. 11 to two years in prison.
More than $700,000 in cash was found in the Morans’ home when Army Criminal Investigation Command agents raided it in January 2002. Much of the money — about $400,000 — was found in $100 bills stuffed in the couple’s bed.
Joseph Kang Hur, of Anaheim, Calif., pleaded guilty in August 2002 to two counts in federal court. He was accused of helping Moran take money from South Korean construction companies in exchange for base contracts.
A South Korean court found Chong Kyu-chun, president of Aulson and Sky Construction Company Ltd., guilty of bribery in August 2002. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
A U.S. indictment contended that Chong’s company paid $50,000 to Moran and his wife for an Osan Air Base family housing construction project; $200,000 for a Camp Carroll construction contract; and $150,000 for an Area I construction contract.
