Texan Sentenced In Iraq Oil-For-Food Scam

(AP)  Texas oilman Oscar Wyatt Jr. was sentenced to one year and one day in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty last month to conspiracy to violate the rules of the U.N. oil-for-food program.

Wyatt, 83, had agreed to be sentenced to 18 to 24 months in prison and forfeit $11 million when he pleaded guilty in October to the federal conspiracy charge.

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin, citing Wyatt's age, military service during World War II and the many letters written to the court on his behalf, handed down a more lenient sentence, but noted: "There's little doubt in my mind that he broke the law."

Wyatt cried as he addressed the judge, apologizing to his family and friends and saying, "I would never do anything to hurt my country."

Before pleading guilty on the 12th day of his trial, Wyatt had insisted he never paid an illegal surcharge to the Iraqi government to win oil contracts.

Prosecutors contended he paid millions of dollars to Iraqi officials to get an unfair share of contracts connected to the oil-for-food program, which ran from 1996 to 2003.

The program permitted the Iraqi government to sell oil primarily to buy food and medicine for suffering Iraqis.

It was meant to help Iraqis cope with U.N. sanctions, but authorities said the program was corrupted when Iraqi officials began demanding illegal surcharges in return for contracts to buy Iraqi oil.

During the trial, the government introduced evidence that Wyatt used an energy company he founded, Coastal Corp., to buy crude oil from Iraq in the decades leading up to the 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

After the invasion, Wyatt maintained a close relationship with Saddam Hussein to guarantee his continued access to Iraqi oil, prosecutors said.

In court papers filed prior to sentencing, prosecutors argued against leniency for Wyatt, criticizing his "breathtakingly immoral" actions. The government claimed that Wyatt was in a unique position to dissuade Iraq from corrupting the scheme.

It played a tape for the jury of a 1990 conversation in which Wyatt is heard telling Saddam that he had visited Iraq as many as 40 times in the previous 15 years and that he was "largely responsible" for a lot of the transactions in which Iraqis sold one-third of their oil exports to the United States.

Wyatt's lawyers described their client as an American hero.

They said he tried to play a peaceful role in resolving conflict between the two countries, even helping to fly Americans out of Iraq when Hussein was threatening to keep them there in the event of a U.S. invasion.

[logicanada]

Wyatt has ''agreed to be sentenced??????
This doesn''t sound like justice where I come from!
"Gee,I don''t like the original sentence, I don''t agree! Give me something I agree to!"
I wonder how many black kids busted for possession of a joint get the same privilege?

[bareemperor]

Enron officials did this, and far worse - and only payed fines... Friends of Bu$$$h, I guess...

[brianbwb-2009]

"I would never do anything to hurt my country."

Too bad his "country" extends only to the walls of his bank vault.

I seem to remember one of the reasons the Bush klan used while vilifying and justifying invading Iraq and lynching Saddam was that he was corrupting the oil for food program.

Now Saddam, and hundreds of thousands of his brethren, are dead, millions are suffering, but this clown only gets 366 days in some hotel suite jail for the rich.

Viva Texas! (not)

[feelfree1]

Why isn''t the ad for the petro-terrorists of Chevron on this page?

[ov442]

This old *** says the same cr4p that the rest of the republicans say. "I would never do anything to hurt my country." "Wyatt''s lawyers described their client as an American hero.".... "I AM not Gay, I never HAVE been Gay, I never WILL be Gay"
"I did not patronize any prostitutes, I merely sought therapeutic massage"

[ov442]

hey fuzzybear, they went after saddam for two reasons. They knew a war in iraq would net their ally company halliburton billions of freebie taxpayer dollars, they knew other allies like Prince from blackwater would net billions, they knew major military suppliers would net billions in replacement parts supplies and all would for sure add employees to the payrolls. That is the main reason our nation started to climb out of a recession, basically they paid hundreds of billions in tax dollars (as loans from china) to military suppliers as a Spur to the economy.
Also, since our commanders knew Iraq was lame and had little ability to fight and little will to fight, they''d be an easy conquest. which they were, but apparently no one at the top cared about the occupation.

The second reason is that Saddam had tried to assasinate GWB''s daddy Bush Sr.

[jetranger7]

I''d givin him 25-years in prision and fined him 50-million dollars and seized all his assets as well ! More than likely you can bet he also was a big contributor to the BUSH/CHENEY Presidential Campaign, which you see where those 2 Arrogrant Corrupt Fraudulent Crooks are taking this country !

[sheridan030]

Lets see here. Why was he the only oilman to be indicted ? How come the CEOs and CFOs, etc. of all the other involved energy companies were not ? All they got were fines.

Hmmm. Every corner gas station, which carry a big name, knew exactly how the gas they purchased from Wyatt was obtained, and under what circumstances. Why were they not investigated ? Interesting.

Anyone with a knowledge of Iraq and that part of the world knows how business is, and has been for centuries, conducted. You pay them a little extra if you want to buy something from them. Bribe ?

Mr. Wyatt is not a favorite of the Bush family. Ever since Mr. Wyatt flew to Iraq and personally negotiated the release of American hostages, he has not been looked upon with favor by this family. As a matter of fact, Barbara Bush''s comment regarding Mr. Wyatt''s freeing of these hostages and bringing them home was " He didn''t do anything. All he did was bring back some of the hostages on a plane."

I do look forward to the published memoirs of Mr. Wyatt. You know, the ones he will write during his year and one day sentence. He knows everyone''s secrets. Some should be afraid. Very afraid.

[southdakota7]

That is one old booger to be going to jail. At least he can buy his own food -- the baloney sandwiches would kill him.