Executives, Army Official Charged in Bribery Scheme A former U.S. Army contracting officer in Germany has admitted accepting bribes from at least 15 contractors and helped catch two executives in a sting operation, the Justice Department announced Sept. 16. The department said Steven G. Potoski, 45, who was the civilian director of contracting at the Armed Forces Recreation Center in Garmisch, Germany, is cooperating with investigators. Two American contractors were charged with paying bribes to Potoski: Alvan Vance McQueen, 56, of Shelbyville, IN, president and owner of Flat Rock Furniture; and Ellis Abramson, 39, of Merrick, NY, president of Bramson House Inc. According to a criminal complaint filed in New York federal court, Potoski admitted to investigators that he accepted bribes from contractors and subcontractors related to work at the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort, a recreation center for soldiers, including some on leave from Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the charges, Potoski approved inflated prices in contracts and split the amount of overpayment with the contractors. The complaint alleges that Potoski accepted more than $350,000 in bribes from at least 15 contractors or subcontractors, including two American firms, 12 German companies and one British company. Prosecutors charge that Potoski, his family members and others accepted cash and a smorgasbord of gifts including electronics gear, artwork, trips and tickets to the Indianapolis 500. McQueen, the Indiana furniture company owner, is charged with paying Potoski approximately $45,000 in cash and providing other gifts in return for Potoski’s agreement to approve an inflated contract. According to the complaint filed in Indiana federal court, McQueen also passed $100,000 in cash to an undercover agent posing as Potoski’s successor. Abramson, president of Bramson House, is charged with paying $23,000 in cash to Potoski in return for Potoski’s agreement to inflate the price of a contract for draperies and bedspreads. According to the complaint, undercover agents listened in on a phone call when he agreed to pay Potoski $20,000 to $30,000 as part of a separate scheme. In addition to substantial prison terms if they are convicted, the Justice Department said it will seek the forfeiture of the proceeds of the alleged crimes.