In a bit of news that’s historic in a bad way for the United States Navy, retired four-star Admiral Robert P. Burke was convicted of bribery and other corruption-related conspiracy charges. Burke, who was the second-highest-ranking officer in the Navy when he retired, is the most senior member of the United States armed forces to ever be convicted of committing a federal crime while on active duty.
For reference, Burke’s guilty verdict came on Monday, May 19, at the end of a five-day trial in which prosecutors exposed how he obtained a $500,000 a year job after leaving the Navy by, while he was the second-highest ranking officer in it, steering highly lucrative training contracts to a certain company in exchange for getting the job when he retired.
Judge Jeanine Pirro, now the Acting United States Attorney for Washington, D.C., took to X to announce the news and comment on what it shows. She began, “When you abuse your position and betray the public trust to line your own pockets, it undermines the confidence in the government you represent.”
Continuing, she vowed that all corrupt officials, however high ranking, will be held accountable for their illegal activity. She said, “Our office, with our law enforcement partners, will root out corruption – be it bribes or illegal contracts – and hold accountable the perpetrators, no matter what title or rank they hold.”
The DOJ, in a press release on what happened, described both the outlines of the case and what it was that Admiral Burke was convicted of, saying, “Admiral Robert Burke (USN-Ret.), 62, of Coconut Creek, Florida, was found guilty of bribery today in connection with accepting future employment at a government vendor in exchange for awarding that company a government contract.”
Continuing, it gave some details on the specific crimes he was convicted of, saying, “Following a five-day trial, a federal jury found Burke guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, performing acts affecting a personal financial interest, and concealing material facts from the United States. U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden scheduled sentencing for August 22, 2025.”
Then, after quoting Pirro, the statement provided, “Despite the Navy’s instructions, the co-defendants met with Burke in Washington, D.C., in July 2021, to reestablish Company A’s business relationship with the Navy. At the meeting, the charged defendants agreed that Burke would use his position as a Navy Admiral to steer a contract to Company A in exchange for future employment at the company. They further agreed that Burke would use his official position to influence other Navy officers to award another contract to Company A to train a large portion of the Navy with a value one of the co-defendants allegedly estimated to be ‘triple digit millions.'”
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Describing how he handed the company the contract and lied about it to cover up what he had done, the DOJ then noted, “In December 2021, Burke ordered his staff to award a $355,000 contract to Company A to train personnel under Burke’s command in Italy and Spain. Company A performed the training in January 2022. Thereafter, Burke promoted Company A in a failed effort to convince another senior Navy Admiral to award another contract to Company A. To conceal the scheme, Burke made several false and misleading statements to the Navy, including by falsely implying that Company A’s employment discussions with Burke only began months after the contract was awarded and omitting the truth on his required government ethics disclosure forms.”
Concluding, the statement noted that Burke did get the job and was not only paid a great deal in salary, but got a very generous stock options package, noting, “In October 2022, Burke began working at Company A at a yearly starting salary of $500,000 and a grant of 100,000 stock options.”
Watch ABC’s report on the matter here: