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Former Schofield range director pleads guilty in bribery scheme

A former civilian Schofield Barracks range director pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to conspiracy to accept more than $100,000 in bribes, the U.S. Department of Justice said today in a news release.

Victor Garo, 67, of Mililani, who was a senior U.S. Army civilian worker, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court (Hawaii District) Chief Judge J. Michael Seabright to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of illegally transporting firearms across state lines.

He is scheduled for sentencing March 2020 before Seabright.

Garo, in his plea agreement, admitted that from 2011 to 2018, while a range director at Schofield Barracks, he accepted over $100,000 worth of bribes, including cash, cars and firearms, from a federal contractor seeking and receiving business from the Army.

He is the second public official and the third individual to plead guilty in the ongoing investigation into fraud and bribery at Schofield, the Justice Department said.

Garo served as supervisory range officer for the Range Division at Schofield Barracks from January 2002 to March 2019, the U.S. Army Hawaii said in a media release.

The Army Criminal Investigation Command, Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the FBI, with help from the Defense Contract Audit Agency, investigated the case.

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