Snip from NYT story by James Glanz:
A North Carolina man who was charged yesterday with accepting kickbacks and bribes as a comptroller and financial officer for the American occupation authority in Iraq was hired despite having served prison time for felony fraud in the 1990's. The job gave the man, Robert J. Stein, control over $82 million in cash earmarked for Iraqi rebuilding projects.
And at the end:
Walter Slocombe, an under secretary of defense in the Clinton administration who served as an adviser in Iraq in 2003, said that the comptrollers were "people with considerable responsibility, but not very far up in the hierarchy." Although Mr. Slocombe does not recall meeting Mr. Stein, he said that he did recall visiting the regional office in Hilla where Mr. Stein worked. Amid the privations and heat of Iraq, the office stood out vividly for a particularly simple reason, Mr. Slocombe said. "It was famous for its soft ice-cream machine," he said.
In the wake of the latest accusations, Mr. Slocombe said, he was wondering how the ice-cream machine had been paid for.
Link , and here is a related NYT piece from 11/17.
Here is a related account from Paul Richter at the LA Times, and here is an AP report.