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A friend sent this to me this morning...

St. Petersburg Times
October 19, 2005
Pg. 1

Inquiry Targets Retired Colonel

Federal investigators searched the Indian Rocks Beach home of a former Army colonel with Special Operations Command, his lawyer says.

By Paul de la Garza and Jennifer Liberto

TAMPA - A retired Army colonel is a target of a federal bribery investigation at Special Operations Command, his lawyer confirmed Tuesday.

Criminal investigators from the Pentagon searched the Indian Rocks Beach home of the former officer, Tom Spellissy, a few months ago. No charges have been filed against him.

Spellissy, 48, is the second figure to emerge in a widening bribery scandal that has prompted SOCom officials to review all federal weapons contracts awarded in the last six years.

Spellissy, who oversaw special weapons programs at SOCom headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base, says he did nothing wrong.

"I'm holding up pretty good," he said, adding that he could "shed a lot of light on the investigation."

In a wide-ranging interview, his attorney, Pat Doherty of Palm Harbor, said he was conducting an independent inquiry to determine "what's going on - who's on first."

Among other areas, Doherty said he is exploring the relationship between his client and Gen. Bryan "Doug" Brown, SOCom commander.

SOCom did not respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday night.

On Monday, SOCom spokesman Ken McGraw said Spellissy and Brown met three or four times a year during weapons acquisition briefings. Spellissy said he met with Brown more often than that, but declined further comment.

SOCom oversees the nation's secret commandos, such as the Green Berets and the Navy SEALS. At the direction of President Bush, it has been directed to "synchronize" the war on terror.

Spellissy, based at SOCom from July 1999 until he retired in December, runs a Clearwater consulting company that did business with former SOCom colleague William Burke.

Burke, 49, of Odessa, pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to a bribery charge.

In exchange for leniency, Burke agreed to cooperate with federal authorities. The FBI, SOCom and the Pentagon inspector general, the agency's investigative arm, have teamed up in the case. Burke could face up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Burke arrived at SOCom in 1999, working on behalf of Virginia-based Sentel Corp. As a federal contracts gatekeeper, he oversaw the evaluation and testing of foreign and domestic weapons systems that would eventually equip special operations forces.

His recommendations for weapons contracts went directly to the Office of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Companies he recommended generally got congressional funding. Companies he did not were put at the back of the line. In fiscal 2005, SOCom's procurement budget totaled $1.8-billion.

In his guilty plea, Burke admitted taking bribes from companies competing for multimillion-dollar contracts. His admission prompted SOCom to launch a review of every contract Burke oversaw, trying to determine whether commandos had received inferior equipment.

Doherty denied his client did anything wrong. He said Spellissy worked legally with Burke after a 25-year career in the armed services that ended with an honorable discharge.

The plea agreement, however, details how Burke received several thousand dollars from an unidentified individual and was promised substantial money "down the road." In return, Burke conducted market research for the individual and gave his clients preferential treatment.

Doherty said he didn't know whether Spellissy was the unnamed individual.

"The indictment of Mr. Burke is fairly detailed," Doherty said. "But you have to fill in the blanks, have to figure dates, payments."

He said Spellissy and his company, Strategic Defense International Inc., hired Burke to conduct market research, which included reviewing what type of weapons the military wanted.

Spellissy paid Burke's company, Carlisle Bradford Enterprises, about $7,000, Doherty said.

Spellissy hired Doherty after Pentagon investigators searched his house. Doherty said he did not know what investigators were looking for.

Spellissy attended Central Catholic High School in Clearwater and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1979. He commanded battalions in Fort Sill, Okla., and Germany, according to a biography Spellissy gave to a defense industry conference in 1999.

Spellissy served as a military analyst at MacDill-based Central Command, the nerve center of the war in Iraq. He also was the point person for Foreign Comparative Testing at SOCom for several years, the same area Burke eventually took over.

Spellissy bought a $680,000 house in Indian Rocks Beach last December from a combination of savings and profits made from selling some condominiums he owned, Doherty said. Doherty said he has found no evidence any of the companies that Spellissy represented received preferential treatment or got federal contracts.

"I'm looking for some preferential treatment, but I don't see any," Doherty said. "Maybe I'm not looking in the right place."