Two former employees of Blackwater Worldwide, the security contractor whose practices in Iraq are under federal scrutiny, were sentenced to probation Thursday on gunrunning charges.
Blackwater, the largest private security firm in Iraq, has been under a magnifying glass as a federal grand jury in Washington investigates the company's involvement in the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians. The firm is also under investigation for possible weapons smuggling allegations — which the firm strongly denies.
The two men were granted leniency because they have been helping federal investigators for more than a year, and neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys would confirm the men are involved in the smuggling investigation.
Kenneth Wayne Cashwell, of Virginia Beach, Va., and William Ellsworth "Max" Grumiaux, of Clemmons, were sentenced to three years probation and a 1,000 U.S. dollar fine on charges of possession of stolen firearms that had been shipped in interstate or foreign commerce, and aiding and abetting another in doing so.
The details of what information the two men are giving to prosecutors was kept secret by Chief U.S. District Judge Louise Wood Flanagan, who invited attorneys to the bench to quietly share details of what she called "extensive cooperation."
An Associated Press reporter in the courtroom unsuccessfully objected to the private discussion. U.S. Attorney George Holding did not immediately return a call seeking comment on why part of the sentencing hearing should be held in private.
Cashwell also was sentenced to three months of house arrest. Both men had faced up to 10 years in prison and a 250,000- dollar fine, but federal prosecutors asked Flanagan to approve the lighter sentence in light of their cooperation.
Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell did not immediately return a call seeking comment, but the company has strongly denied involvement in weapons smuggling, noting it turned the two men in to authorities in 2005.
Source:Xinhua/Agencies
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