WAMU 88.5 : News

Filed Under:

U.S. Postal Worker Pleads Guilty To Accepting Bribes

Play associated audio

A purchasing specialist with the U.S. Postal Service has pleaded guilty to accepting at least $40,000 in bribes in a scheme designed to help a Maryland company get $6 million in contracts," reports the Associated Press.

Gene Quarles, 47, of Spotsylvania, pleaded guilty to bribery of a public official in federal court in Alexandria. He faces up to 15 years in prison.

Court documents show Quarles regularly received cash payments between 2010 and 2012 from the owners of AH Computer Consulting, Inc. in Rockville, Md. On at least one occasion, Quarles received $3,500 cash in a brown paper bag.

In exchange, he provided inside information that helped the consulting company land two contracts totaling $6 million. Court records show that that company has been awarded $31 million in contracts from the postal service since 2006.

NPR

Fictional 'Mothers' Reveal Facts Of A Painful Adoption Process

After years trying to conceive, novelist Jennifer Gilmore and her husband decided to adopt. What they thought would be a relatively simple process was instead a long and painful one. In her latest novel, Gilmore channels these autobiographical experiences into fiction.
NPR

In Raw Milk Case, Activists See Food Freedom On Trial

Activists say the case against Wisconsin dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger is about raw milk — and much more. His supporters have turned the case into a rallying cry for personal food freedom and the rights of farmers and consumers to enter into private contracts without government intervention.
NPR

Lois Lerner's Brief And Awful Day On Capitol Hill

The IRS bureaucrat showed up long enough at a House hearing into the scandal engulfing her agency to declare her innocence and her constitutional right to say no more.
NPR

How That 'Nigerian Email Scam' Got Started

You've probably seen it in your inbox before: Someone who claims to have come into a fortune needs your help. You can share in the profits — if you send along a deposit or your bank account number. Boston Globe correspondent Finn Brunton talks about the history of the "Nigerian prince" or "419" scam, which actually got its start long before email.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.