Jan.28, 2010

The Justice Department announced that a former U.S. Army staff sergeant pleaded guilty to money-laundering Thursday, and admitted to using the criminal proceeds to pay for cosmetic surgery, among other things.

Theresa Russell, 40, admitted to a federal court in San Antonio that she knowingly accepted more than $30,000 in cash derived from a bribery scheme.

From the DOJ press release:

“According to court documents, from January 2004 through October 2004, Russell was deployed to Logistical Support Area (LSA) Anaconda, a U.S. military installation near Balad, Iraq. As part of the plea, Russell admitted that from April 2004 to February 2005, she received more than $30,000 in cash from John Rivard, a former major in the U.S. Army Reserves. Russell admitted that she knew the money she received from Rivard was the proceeds of bribery.”

Rivard pleaded guilty to bribery and other offenses in 2007 for his role in a conspiracy to direct federally-funded contracts to a contractor’s company in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. According to court documents, Russell diverted the bribes into a number of bank accounts to avoid detection by law enforcement authorities. She then used some of the money to pay for plastic surgery, a car, and household furnishing and goods.

Russell faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release following the prison term. She is scheduled to be sentenced on May 21, 2010.

The government prosecutors on the case are Trial Attorneys Daniel A. Petalas and Justin V. Shur of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, as well as Trial Attorney Ann C. Brickley.