Former U.S. Navy Admiral Gets Six Years for Influence-for-Hire Scheme

 

Adm. Robert Burke (USN, ret'd.) has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for making a deal to trade his influence in the Pentagon for a lucrative post-retirement job. As a four-star admiral, Burke is among the highest-ranking officers ever convicted of a federal crime.   

“Today’s sentence sends a clear message: if you sell your honor and trade your influence, you’ll pay the price," said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro in a statement. "Instead of leading by example, [Burke] cashed in that trust — turning four stars into dollar signs and trading duty for a corporate payday."

While it is commonplace for admirals to take positions with defense contractors after leaving the military, prosecutors alleged that Burke arranged a six-figure military contract for his future employer before he departed the service. 

The story began in 2018, when training firm Next Jump received a subcontract from the Navy for a pilot program. The Navy terminated it the following year, leaving Next Jump without any military contracts. Next Jump's co-chief executives, defendants Yongchul "Charlie" Kim and Meghan Messenger, emailed Adm. Burke - the vice chief of naval operations - in hopes of reestablishing the business relationship. 

That outreach did not yield results for Next Jump right away, but in 2021 Burke agreed to take Kim's call. At the time, Burke was Commander Naval Forces Europe and Africa. Kim allegedly laid out a job proposal for Burke. If the admiral secured a workforce training contract for Next Jump from Naval Forces Europe, and stayed in the Navy six months afterwards to promote the training service-wide, he would get a $500,000 per year post-retirement job at Next Jump, prosecutors said. That sequence of events unfolded as allegedly discussed: Next Jump delivered trainings in Naples and Rota, and Burke went to work for the firm in late 2022 at a comparable pay rate. 

Burke's defense lawyer, Tim Parlatore - a Navy Reserve JAG officer with a top-level Pentagon role - argued that the military and government investigation into Burke's case had been done incompetently. However, a jury convicted Burke in May; Kim and Messenger's case went to trial in August, but ended in a hung jury and a mistrial. According to Parlatore, Burke may have had a better chance at his trial if his jury had seen the same evidence allowed in Kim and Messenger's case. 

Federal prosecutors asked for a 10-year sentence for Burke after his conviction. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced him to six years in prison, plus three years of supervised release.