Soldier’s sentence includes prison and cash

A former top enlisted soldier at Schofield Barracks is going to prison for 2 1/2 years for accepting bribe money to steer a defense contract, which was ultimately worth more than $20 million, to a particular trucking and transportation services company in Afghanistan.

In addition to the 31-month prison term, Sgt. Maj. Gary M. Canteen, a 24-year Army veteran, could be court-martialed and kicked out of the military with no retirement benefits. His current assignment is at the Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground.

U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi sentenced Canteen, 42, to the prison term Friday and ordered him to repay the U.S. Department of Defense the $50,000 bribe he and fellow former Schofield Barracks soldier Charles O. Finch accepted from AZ Corp.

Kobayashi sentenced Finch on Thursday to 51 months in prison for bribery and conspiracy. She also ordered him to repay the $50,000 he and Canteen split between them plus an additional $150,000 Finch accepted from AZ.

Unlike Canteen, Finch does not face additional punishment from the military. He retired from the Army as a sergeant prior to his indictment in 2010 on bribery, conspiracy and money laundering charges.

Canteen and Finch were assigned to the 725th Logistical Task Force in Bagram, Afghanistan, in 2004 and 2005. Canteen, who was not yet promoted to sergeant major, was the task force’s first sergeant. Finch was the noncommissioned officer in charge of operations support and responsible for coordinating trucking and transportation services in and out of Bagram. The two also shared living quarters in Bagram.

A federal judge in Chicago is scheduled to sentence AZ and its principals, Afghan expatriate brothers Assad John Ramin and Tahir Ramin, next month. The Ramins, now U.S. citizens, also face sentencing for other bribery scheme charges involving other active U.S. military personnel for contracts and money they received without having delivered any goods or services.