Fraud has been a persistent threat to the integrity of the federal procurement system, especially for the American military, since the days of the American Revolution. Recent reports of corrupt contractors and corrupted government officials clearly show that the problem remains unabated. This is a study of the history of procurement fraud, with a particular focus on the defense industry, an analysis of various systemic failures in the government s corruption control legal regime, and a series of proposals to strengthen the government s ability to combat it. About the author: Michael J. Davidson enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1977. He graduated from West Point in 1982 and served as both an artillery officer and as an Army lawyer before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2002. He is currently a lawyer with the federal government. After obtaining his law degree from the College of William and Mary, he obtained a master s degree in military law from the Army s Judge Advocate General s School, a second master s degree in government procurement law from George Washington University, and a Doctor of Judicial Science from George Washington University. As a lawyer, he has experience with procurement fraud in the criminal, civil, administrative and contractual contexts. He lives in Fairfax, Virginia with his wife, Nancy, and their three daughters."

The Standards of Conduct Office of the Department of Defense General Counsel's Office has assembled an "encyclopedia" of cases of ethical failure for use as a training tool. These are real examples of Federal employees who have intentionally or unwittingly violated standards of conduct. Some cases are humorous, some sad, and all are real. Some will anger you as a Federal employee and some will anger you as an American taxpayer. Note the multiple jail and probation sentences, fines, employment terminations and other sanctions that were taken as a result of these ethical failures. Violations of many ethical standards involve criminal statutes. This updated (end of 2009) edition is organized by type of violations, including conflicts of interest, misuse of Government equipment, violations of post-employment restrictions, and travel.