2008 Finalist—Justice and Law Enforcement
This award will recognize a federal employee for a significant contribution to the nation in activities related to justice and law enforcement (including civil rights, criminal justice, counterterrorism, and fraud detection and prevention). This medal is accompanied by a $3,000 award.
Mark Pletcher
Position: Trial Attorney
Agency: Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, National Criminal Enforcement Section
Location: Washington, D.C.
Residence: Silver Spring, Maryland
Achievement: Leading efforts to stop bid-rigging, fraud and corruption involving U.S. officials and defense contractors in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan
The war in Iraq has cost hundreds of billions of dollars, most of which is awarded to contractors who provide supplies and weapons to our soldiers. While the vast majority of the men and women overseas are fighting bravely in service to our country, there has been an alarming wave of corruption among military and government personnel who have taken millions of dollars in bribes while working on the contract awards process. Fortunately, these criminals are being identified and brought to justice thanks to the work of Mark Pletcher, a trial attorney at the Department of Justice (DOJ).
For the past two and a half years, Pletcher has been a driving force behind ferreting out greed and corruption in the defense contracting process, during which time he has worked on the ground in Baghdad, Kuwait City, Manama, Doha, and across the United States. Within the Antitrust Division, Pletcher leads a team of six attorneys and works with a coalition of federal law enforcement organizations, including the FBI, Defense Criminal Investigative Services, the Army Criminal Investigations Command, the Special Inspector General of Iraq Reconstruction and others. Despite the novel legal, territorial, and diplomatic challenges of working in the Middle East, this coalition has successfully secured evidence at home and abroad by systematically identifying and exploiting the conspiracies’ weaknesses.
Pletcher has helped investigate and prosecute cases against 18 individuals and companies to date. He has charged government employees and contractors for profiteering from U.S. military contracts for drinking water, life support services, armor, fuel and other necessities. In one high-profile case, Pletcher and others are prosecuting a U.S. Army major who accepted more than $9 million in bribes in just one year in Kuwait.
These prosecutions have also served as a powerful deterrent for future fraud and a driver of reform. There are multiple reports that the culture within Army contracting has changed dramatically, with a heightened emphasis on making sure contracting officials are behaving ethically. Pletcher’s cases also prompted a major report, commissioned by the Secretary of the Army, which led to an overhaul of the war-zone procurement system for the entire Department of Defense.
Traditionally, U.S. efforts to crack down on corruption have started and ended with the prosecution of U.S. officials, but Pletcher hasn’t stopped at punishing U.S. military officials. He has aggressively tracked down the individuals and companies that are paying the bribes.
Pletcher is currently working on many more cases that are likely to end in prosecution, and because of his work, the U.S. government has taken steps to increase oversight and end contracting abuses.
“Mark says his goal is to put himself out of work,” said fellow DOJ trial attorney Emily Allen, who has worked closely with Pletcher on these cases. “It looks like he’s on his way there.”
The Service to America Medals are presented annually by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service to celebrate excellence in our federal civil service.
