Micronesia Official Pleads Guilty To Bribery In Hawaii

Authorities said he accepted a bribe from a Honolulu company in exchange for $7.8 million in government contracts.

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(AP) — A Micronesia government official has pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge in Hawaii.

Master Halbert, 44, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Honolulu on Tuesday to conspiring to launder bribe money he accepted from the president of a Hawaii civil engineering company.

Authorities say Halbert accepted a bribe from Frank James Lyon of Lyon Associates Inc. in Honolulu in exchange for $7.8 million in government contracts.

The Federal Courthouse building in Honolulu. Anthony Quintano/Civil Beat/2017

Lyon, admitted to the bribes last month in a plea agreement and faces a maximum five-year prison sentence. Those payments included some $250,000 in bribes to unidentified state government officials to secure a $2.5 million contract in Hawaii, according to the deal.

Reports say Halbert was a civil aviation assistant secretary in the Federated States of Micronesia and is the son-in-law of Micronesia President Peter Christian.

Authorities say Halbert faces a maximum 20-year prison term at his sentencing in July and is prohibited from leaving Oahu while free on bond.

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