Alaska News

Telecom contractor found guilty of trying to bribe JBER official

A federal jury has found an employee of a Tennessee-based telecommunications company guilty of bribing a public official with thousands of dollars to accept faulty work at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, according to a news release Friday from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The conviction of John "Jack" Becker, 53, on Thursday followed guilty pleas last week from his employer, ADA Station Communication Inc., and his brother, Herschell Becker, 48. Both had pleaded guilty to bribing a public official in connection with the same investigation, said the news release.

Herschell Becker has worked as the vice president of ADA Station Communication since 1995, when his brother, Jeff, founded the company in Crossville, Tennessee. Their other brother, Jack Becker, has worked as an employee there since around 2003, said the news release.

An investigation into the company launched when an Air Force official at JBER reported that subcontractors had offered him $10,000 to "look the other way on faulty work," the release said.

ADA Station Communication did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. Attorney's Office, which prosecuted the case, said ADA Station Communication was awarded subcontracts in 2014 and 2015 to install and upgrade fiber optic cables on JBER. On July 17, 2014, Jack and Herschell Becker met with the U.S. Air Force official to complete quality assurance inspections on some project locations, the release said.

During the inspections, the Air Force official found problems with the projects and requested the Beckers fix them. The next day, the Beckers offered the official $10,000 to just accept the shoddy fiber optic cable work. They said it would cost them $60,000 to fix it.

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"During this meeting, the Beckers told the Air Force official they could 'pad his pockets' and 'the less people that know the better,'" the release said. "The Beckers knew that the Air Force official would make the final decision on whether to accept the work as complete and wanted the Air Force official to overlook the discrepancies."

The Air Force official declined the payment. The Beckers offered it again, the release said.

On Aug. 22, 2014, the Beckers met with the Air Force official who had, in the meantime, reported the $10,000 bribe to law enforcement and was then working at the direction of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. During the meeting, the Beckers and the official discussed the prior offer, the release said.

"Herschell Becker acknowledged that it was a big risk to offer a bribe to the Air Force official, but that he would do it again because it cost him $60,000 to repair the problems and he would have much rather have given the Air Force official $10,000," it said. "The Beckers also mentioned that they were bidding on other jobs in Alaska and would like to win the business."

Herschell Becker acknowledged that the fiber optic cables installed by the company would not pass a testing requirement. The Beckers described the additional money they would have to pay to stay in Alaska longer than planned. Herschell Becker then offered the Air Force official $5,000 to accept the company's installation work. He agreed, the release said.

"Jack Becker also told the Air Force official that he knew there was more work coming up next summer and that ADA Station Communication was going to try to bid that too, so things could get better down the road," the release said.

On Aug. 28, Herschell Becker texted the Air Force official that his brother would be "getting with him today," the release said. He said if the Air Force official could put in a good word about the company, "it would be well worth his while," according to the release.

That day, an employee at ADA Station Communication wired $5,000 cash to Jack Becker from a Walmart in Crossville. Becker hand-delivered the money to the Air Force official, the release said.

In March 2015, federal prosecutors charged Herschell Becker and ADA Station Communication Inc. with three counts of bribery of a public official. John Becker was charged with two counts of bribery of a public official.

The Beckers and the company are scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 6 and Nov. 10 in Anchorage.

The brothers could face up to 15 years in prison, three years' supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count. The maximum penalty for ADA Station Communication is up to five years' probation and a fine of up either $500,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater.

Tegan Hanlon

Tegan Hanlon was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News between 2013 and 2019. She now reports for Alaska Public Media.

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