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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Sergeant Sent Bribe Money Home in Toys

MEMPHIS (CN) - A former Army sergeant was sentenced to 41 months in jail Friday for taking bribes from Afghan contractors.

Jimmy Dennis, 44, was also ordered to pay $115,000 for taking about $250,000 in bribes and conspiring to launder it.

Prosecutors said Dennis accepted the cash when he worked in the Humanitarian Aid Yard at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan from March 2008 to March 2009.

"Dennis was part of the team in the HA Yard that purchased supplies from local Afghan vendors for distribution as part of the Commander's Emergency Response Program for urgent humanitarian relief requirements in Afghanistan," the government says. "Dennis helped steer contracts to certain Afghan vendors in return for about $250,000 in cash bribes."

The Olive Branch, Miss. native allegedly sent the money back to the United States hidden in packages addressed to his wife, father and Army friend James Pittman. The money was sometimes hidden in the back compartment of toy trucks called "jingle trucks."

"Instead of serving his country, Jimmy Dennis betrayed it by accepting bribes and selfishly lining his pockets with hundreds of thousands of dollars," U.S. Attorney Edward Stanton said in a written statement. "Today's sentence should serve as a constant reminder that we and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate corruption of any kind and are determined to hold corrupt officials accountable."

Pittman agreed to help launder Dennis' money through his landscaping business, according to the government. Pittman, 45, was sentenced last September to one year and a day in jail and ordered to forfeit $25,000.

Dennis' father Jerry, 69, was sentenced Friday to two years probation and ordered to pay $110,000.

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