A former driver for a national trucking company pleaded guilty last week to charges, admitting he bribed employees in the Traffic Office at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Georgia in order to obtain lucrative freight hauling business.

David R. Nelson of Lucedale, Mississippi, pleaded guilty before a federal judge in the Middle District of Georgia to one count of bribery of a public official, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

During his guilty plea, Nelson, a former driver for an unidentified large transportation company based in Louisville, Kentucky, admitted to paying more than $100,000 in bribes between 2006 and 2012 to officials in the Traffic Office at MCLB in Albany, Georgia in exchange for obtaining freight shipments from the base to destinations on the West Coast.

The bribes started at $500 for each shipment, but later grew to as much as $1,500 per shipment. From the money he made from these freight shipments, Nelson purchased a $50,000 specially-modified trailer that allowed him to carry multiple “protected security service” loads, such as weapons, on a single trip.

As part of his plea agreement with the United States, Nelson agreed to forfeit the proceeds he received as a result of the bribery scheme, as well as to pay full restitution to the Department of Defense.

The two military employees also implicated in the scheme have also entered guilty pleas on the bribery charges.

Sentencing for Nelson will be scheduled at a later date.

 

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