Navy worker pleads guilty to taking bribes, agrees to help investigation

NORFOLK

At first, the bribes consisted of NCAA basketball tickets and a Sony PlayStation. Then they turned into cash.

Leslie E. Doggett Jr., a former civilian purchasing agent at Norfolk Naval Station, admitted in federal court Thursday that he took more than $34,000 in bribes from an unidentified vendor.

The vendor, in exchange, received favorable status and inflated orders, according to a court papers Doggett signed and admitted to Thursday.

The FBI and Naval and Defense Department criminal investigators indicated the case is part of a larger probe into kickbacks among Navy contractors. They declined to comment further.

Doggett turned himself in Thursday morning, pleaded guilty to one count of public bribery and was released on $10,000 bond pending sentencing Aug. 29. He began crying as he admitted his criminal conduct before U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Friedman.

Doggett declined to comment after the proceeding, but his lawyer said he already regrets his behavior.

“He’s obviously very upset at this,” said Doggett’s lawyer Robert B. Rigney. “He’s very sorry for what he’s done.”

In a plea agreement with the government, Doggett will cooperate in the investigation.

Doggett, who was in charge of purchasing industrial lubricants and cleaners for various Navy commands, admitted that he began accepting gifts from an unidentified vendor in November 2006. The gifts included $3,400 worth of NCAA basketball game tickets and a $650 Sony PlayStation.

Doggett then requested cash payments. From February to October last year, he received about $30,000 from the vendor, according to a statement of facts in the case filed Thursday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In all, Doggett received more than $34,000 in cash and gifts.

In return, Doggett gave the chemical supplies vendor preferential treatment and inflated orders. According to the court records, the vendor received hundreds of thousands of dollars in orders.

The vendor is identified in court papers only as a “cooperating witness.”

At one point, Doggett and the vendor agreed that Doggett would receive a cash payment equal to 2.25 percent of the order. For example, in a two-week period in August, Doggett placed $285,000 in orders for the vendor and received a kickback of $6,800, according to the court filings.

But Doggett complained to the vendor that he wasn’t getting the agreed-upon 2.25 percent, which would have meant a payment of about $7,200 for the August sales. The kickbacks ended shortly after that, according to the court records.

Doggett resigned from his position on April 17, according to Bob Anderson, a spokesman for the Navy Fleet and Industrial Supply Center at Norfolk Naval Station.

Prosecutors Joseph Kosky and Stephen Haynie declined to comment on the ongoing investigation after the court proceeding. Doggett has already agreed to repay the $34,000.

Tim McGlone, (757) 446-2343, tim.mcglone@pilotonline.com