Navy’s former second-in-command convicted in historic corruption case

A retired four-star admiral who once served as the Navy’s second-highest ranking officer, was convicted of bribery and other conspiracy charges, making him the most senior member of the U.S. military ever convicted of committing a federal crime while on active duty.

Following a five-day trial, retired four-star Adm. Robert P. Burke, 62, was found guilty on Monday of a scheme to direct lucrative contracts to a training company in exchange for a $500,000-a-year job after leaving the Navy, according to a news release from the Department of Justice. 

Burke is facing up to 30 years in prison for his role in the scheme to direct contracts potentially worth millions of dollars to a New York City-based company that offered training programs to the Navy.

“When you abuse your position and betray the public trust to line your own pockets, it undermines the confidence in the government you represent,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro wrote in a post on X following the conviction. 

RETIRED NAVY ADMIRAL CHARGED WITH BRIBERY FOR ALLEGEDLY OFFERING GOVERNMENT CONTRACT IN EXCHANGE FOR JOB

“Our office, with our law enforcement partners, will root out corruption – be it bribes or illegal contracts – and hold accountable the perpetrators, no matter what title or rank they hold,” Pirro continued. 

Burke, who served as vice chief of naval operations, was once the Navy’s second-highest ranking officer. 

According to court documents and as the evidence proved at trial, from 2020 to 2022, Burke was a four-star admiral who oversaw U.S. naval operations in Europe, Russia, and most of Africa, and commanded thousands of civilian and military personnel.

Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger, co-CEOs of a company not named by the DOJ, allegedly participated in the scheme to get a government contract in exchange for offering Burke a position with the company.

The company provided a training program for a small part of the Navy from 2018 and 2019, before their contract was terminated. 

FORMER US ARMY INTELLIGENCE ANALYST SENTENCED FOR SELLING SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS TO CHINESE NATIONAL

The company was told by the Navy not to contact Burke, but the three met in Washington, D.C., in July 2021 and Burke allegedly agreed to use his influence to get the company a sole-source contract and urge other Naval officers to use the company for a more widespread training program that Kim estimated would be worth “triple digit millions.”

In December 2021, Burke allegedly ordered his staff to award the company a $355,000 contract to train Naval personnel under his command in Italy and Spain and made an unsuccessful attempt to convince a senior Naval commander to give them another contract. 

“There was no connection between this contract and his employment. The math just doesn’t make sense that he would give them this relatively small contract for that type of job offer,” Burke’s defense attorney, Timothy Parlatore, previously told Fox News Digital.

Burke allegedly implied that he had no role in awarding the contract, and that his discussions with Kim and Messenger didn’t start until after the contract started. 

‘FAT LEONARD’ MASTERMIND BEHIND LARGEST CORRUPTION SCANDAL IN US MILITARY HISTORY SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS

Both Kim and Messenger were arrested in May 2024 and were charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and bribery and could face 20 years in prison. 

Parlatore told Fox News Digital that they are “obviously disappointed by the verdict,” but said “this is a result of the fact that the jury did not get to hear the whole story.” 

“The investigation was very poorly conducted. It was conducted by the exact same investigator who completely screwed up the Fat Leonard case,” Paralore said. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“They didn’t do any research and so you have an incompetent and unethical, corrupt investigator relying upon the word of a known liar, building this terrible case. And ultimately, the only way that they could bring it to a conviction was to only present certain evidence to the jury,” Paralore continued. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. 

Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson contributed to this report.