A Fluvanna County man was sentenced to more than seven years in prison and fined $15,000 today for his role in a scheme that paid $212,400 in bribes to Panamanian officials.
Charles Paul Edward Jumet, 53, a former executive for Ports Engineering Consults Corp., pled guilty in November to conspiracy to make corrupt payments to foreign officials and with lying to investigators.
"I am truly sorry for what I have done," Jumet told U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson at the sentencing hearing this afternoon. He said he initially did not know the deal involved anything illegal, but conceded he did not withdraw from it once he did learn.
According to the U.S. attorney's office, the 87-month sentence is the stiffest ever handed out under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
The charges stem from the bribery of "high-ranking" Panamanian officials who have not been identified by the U.S. government, but apparently include a former president of Panama.
In a related case, John W. Warwick, 63, of Virginia Beach, the former PECC president, pleaded guilty in February to a charge of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and is to be sentenced on May 18.
According to authorities, the payments were made to win a contract with the Panamanian government to maintain buoys and lighthouses outside the canal zone. The initial bribes were made in 1997, with at least one additional payment in 2003.
For more on this story, see tomorrow's Richmond Times-Dispatch.
-- Frank Green
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