A retired Navy admiral’s fall from grace has landed him in the dock, convicted of trading influence for a cushy job.
Robert Burke, once the Navy’s second-in-command, now holds the dubious honor of being the highest-ranking U.S. military officer ever convicted of a federal crime, as the New York Post reports. Turns out, even stars on your shoulder don’t shield you from justice.
Burke, 63, was found guilty Monday in a D.C. court of bribery, conspiracy, and hiding financial interests after a five-day trial. The case, whose outcome was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, exposed how Burke leveraged his role as vice chief of naval operations to funnel a contract to a company promising him a golden parachute.
From August 2018 to July 2019, Company A, led by co-CEOs Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger, provided workforce training to a small Navy unit. Their contract was axed in late 2019, leaving them scrambling to regain Navy business. Enter Burke, whose influence they saw as a ticket back to the Pentagon’s payroll.
By July 2021, Kim and Messenger met Burke in Washington, D.C., to pitch rekindling their Navy ties. Over that meeting, the trio cooked up a bribery scheme: Burke would secure a lucrative contract for Company A, and in return, they’d hand him a $500,000-a-year job plus 100,000 stock options. Greed, it seems, makes strange bedfellows.
Kim estimated the contract could be worth “triple-digit millions,” a tantalizing prospect for all involved. Burke, still wielding significant clout, didn’t hesitate to act. The promise of personal gain clearly trumped his oath to serve.
In December 2021, Burke ordered his staff to award Company A a $355,000 contract for training Navy personnel in Italy and Spain. He even pitched the deal to a senior admiral, flexing his influence before retiring. Such brazen moves show how far some will go to cash in on their rank.
Despite Burke’s efforts, Company A failed to secure further contracts after his retirement. The scheme unraveled, leading to his indictment in May of the previous year. The Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the FBI’s Washington Field Office teamed up to bring him down.
“When you abuse your position and betray the public trust to line your own pockets, it undermines the confidence in the government you represent,” said Pirro. Her words ring true, but they’re cold comfort when a four-star admiral treats public office like a personal ATM. Accountability, at least, is colorblind to rank.
“Our office, with our law enforcement partners, will root out corruption-be -- be it bribes or illegal contracts -- and hold accountable the perpetrators, no matter what title or rank they hold,” Pirro added. Her resolve is a reminder that no one is above the law, not even those who once steered the Navy’s helm. Yet, one wonders how many more Burkes lurk in the shadows of power.
Burke’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, didn’t take the verdict lying down. “We’re disappointed with the verdict, but we are planning to appeal -- and I think that there’s a viable appeal here,” he said. His confidence is bold, but appealing a conviction this airtight might be more wishful thinking than legal strategy.
“The jury did not get to hear all of the evidence,” Parlatore claimed. That’s a convenient excuse when the evidence heard was damning enough to convict. Juries don’t convict four-star admirals lightly, and Burke’s actions spoke louder than any suppressed testimony.
Parlatore didn’t stop there, slamming the investigative agencies involved. “DCIS [and] NCIS are two investigative agencies that are largely stocked with imbeciles, with little training, no ethics, no leadership, no adult supervision, and we allow them to destroy people’s lives,” he said. Smearing the investigators might feel good, but it doesn’t erase the paper trail Burke left behind.
Burke now faces up to 30 years in prison, with sentencing set for August. For a man who once commanded fleets, the prospect of a cell is a steep fall. Actions, as they say, have consequences. Kim and Messenger, Burke’s alleged partners in crime, aren’t off the hook either. They’re slated for trial on bribery charges in August, where they’ll face their reckoning. The wheels of justice grind slowly, but they grind fine.
Burke’s conviction sends a clear message: no rank is too high for accountability. The Navy and the nation deserve leaders who serve the public, not their wallets. Let this be a warning to those tempted by the siren song of corruption.
