Sun Times’ report on Frawley sentencing in error

Hugo Floriani, Investigative Reporter, Illinois PayToPlay

In an April 19, 2012 Sun Times article entitled “Rezko’s business partner, who wore wire, gets one-year prison sentence,” Times reporter Natasha Korecki wrote this:

“The Sun-Times has previously reported that Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity gave a $50 million contract to Companion Security in 2005 to train Iraqi security guards. That deal soon fizzled after a regime change.”

Really? If that’s so then why did Colonel David Hunt (US Army, Ret.) of FOX news fame, according to a confidential informant, send this email to Dan Frawley on June 9, 2007?

From: DHunt12xxx@(Address withheld)

To: dtfcompanion@(Address withheld)

Subject: Dan Call Me Great News

Date: Sat, 9 Jun 2007 20:50:56 EDT

Dan, Dewey, just called. Our guy just got back and is going back again on the 23 of this month. Here is what he learned. The Iraq Government considers your contract valid. Your contract is sitting on the Oil Ministers desk to be discussed and implemented by the Oil Committee. We have a guy on the staff of the committee it turns out a Kurd.

The bad news is that the Oil Committee has not acted on anything in two years....typical for Iraq.

Our guy is going back to try to get the committee to get this started.

I am very surprised and happy for you. I would have thought it was dead in the water.

David

The “Dewey” mentioned in the email is probably Duane R. Clarridge, who worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for over two decades.  Read about him in the New York Times here.

Both Hunt and Clarridge were contacted by email in mid-March for comment, but have not responded.

Doesn’t sound like the deal “fizzled” in 2005, as the Sun Times reported.  According to the email above, as of June 9 2007 the Iraqi government considered the contract, all 17 pages of it, signed on April 18, 2005 by Frawley, “Chief Executive Officer Operations” for Companion Security, and Faris Al-Bayati, “Security Consultant for the [Iraqi] Ministry of Electricity,” still “valid”.

Also, the Sun Times reported that:

“’It’s not clear to me why this took such a long time,’ {Judge] Guzman said. He called it ‘fundamentally unfair’ to charge someone, give time to rehabilitate, then have them serve their punishment. Guzman ordered him to undergo a mental health evaluation and to serve time in a facility that has mental health services.”

Guzman is a judge in the federal court that repeatedly postponed Frawley’s sentencing, dealt with him, according to Guzman, in a “fundamentally unfair” manner, and now the judge says he doesn’t understand how that happened! Really?

It’s as though you go to a fine restaurant – your meal comes late, cold, and bad tasting – and the top chef comes out of the kitchen wearing his tall white hat and says, “Gee, it’s just not clear to me how this happened.”

Lastly, there’s that nagging question of how the Sun Times got access to a sealed law suit allegedly filed by Frawley against the McMahons.  Who leaked it, and why?  And what are the consequences for leaking a sealed court document?

At Illinois PayToPlay, we’re guessing there are no consequences.