A former federal contractor employee is now serving a 70 month prison sentence in connection with his actions of bribing federal officials to obtain construction contracts for his company and then collecting even more in kick-backs to steer the resultant sub-contracts to a specific provider.  John Winslett may have been concerned that, at 66, he didn’t have enough saved to retire.  He offered cash, vintage cars, diamonds and weapons to Army personnel who then steered an estimated $19 million in business his way.  All of the goodies, though, equaled only about $100,000, far less than the over $700,000 in kickbacks he took from the sub-contractor. That should have been enough to pay for a few years in a place nicer than his current jail cell, if only he didn’t get caught.  Contractors absolutely must monitor the actions of those who develop business for them.  Few companies really send BD people out with instructions to buy off federal officials, but they can nevertheless be responsible for their bad actions.  At a minimum, the company will have to hire outside legal help to protect its interests and will then have to work to regain trust and re-establish the company’s image in order to get future business.  Monitoring employee actions in the field may seem expensive, but it is far less so than what Winslett’s company is now facing.  Make sure your company has proper oversight systems in place to ensure that one or two people can’t place your entire operation at risk.