Navy civilian pleads guilty to federal bribery charges

A Navy civilian pleaded guilty in federal court last week to accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of meals, sporting event tickets and other perks from defense contractors in exchange for helping those contractors win government work, the Justice Department announced.

James Soriano, 63, faces more than a decade in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of fines on multiple bribery conspiracy charges, and an additional charge for filing a false tax return in 2018, according to the feds.

The crimes happened while Soriano worked for the Naval Information Warfare Center in San Diego.

There, defense contractors showered Soriano with dinners at fancy restaurants, tickets to the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and World Series, as well as tickets to the 2019 Super Bowl, according to the Justice Department.

Jobs were also scored for Soriano’s family and friends, and an employee working under a defense contractor gave Soriano $2,000 a month directly from her salary.

Navy civilian worker, contractor indicted in alleged bribery scheme

In exchange, the feds say, Soriano allowed defense contractors to draft government documents in competitive and non-competitive procurements and to submit those documents, while he advocated to get those contractors selected.

Soriano’s crimes took place between June 2014 and October 2019, according to the Justice Department, and he is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 6.