It doesnt look to good for these guys from S&W.
UPDATE 2-U.S. charges 22 with bribery involving arms sales | Reuters
UPDATE 2-U.S. charges 22 with bribery involving arms sales | Reuters
It doesnt look to good for these guys from S&W.
UPDATE 2-U.S. charges 22 with bribery involving arms sales | Reuters
250 FBI agents worked on this. Seems like a waste of resources.
Potential multi-billion dollar contracts at stake, and you think 250 agents investigating was a waste of resources?250 FBI agents worked on this. Seems like a waste of resources.
Potential multi-billion dollar contracts at stake, and you think 250 agents investigating was a waste of resources?
Potential multi-billion dollar contracts at stake, and you think 250 agents investigating was a waste of resources?
In the case of the Smith & Wesson executive, Goncalves gave price quotes for two sales, a small one of 25 guns and a larger one with 1,800 pistols.
American ethics aside, let's compare the numbers.
The S&W folks marked up the sale of 1800 pistols by 20%.
At $800 each (which should be pretty steep if you are buying 1800) that comes out to ~$1.4MM.
Now, 250 agents working for 2 years on the project, as the article stated. Let's see what they cost...
- Assuming they work full time (40 hours)
- Put in 45 weeks a year (even Gov't people have to have a vacation every now and again)
- Have a base pay of $25/H (~$50K year, pretty meager for special agent pay)
That comes out to $22.5MM in expenses (not including fringes like insurance, 401K, etc.) on a sale of $1.4MM....hmmm
Keep in mind they (S&W) were paying an extra 'commission' (bribing) to an African (fictional) national. These types of payment are very typical in many parts of the world and considered an accepted part of business, to the extent that the 'commissions' are often 'budgeted'.
Hmmm, keep another country safe from the evil S&W empire or use the $22MM to really help America?
American ethics aside, let's compare the numbers.
The S&W folks marked up the sale of 1800 pistols by 20%.
At $800 each (which should be pretty steep if you are buying 1800) that comes out to ~$1.4MM.
Now, 250 agents working for 2 years on the project, as the article stated. Let's see what they cost...
That comes out to $22.5MM in expenses (not including fringes like insurance, 401K, etc.) on a sale of $1.4MM....hmmm
- Assuming they work full time (40 hours)
- Put in 45 weeks a year (even Gov't people have to have a vacation every now and again)
- Have a base pay of $25/H (~$50K year, pretty meager for special agent pay)
Keep in mind they (S&W) were paying an extra 'commission' (bribing) to an African (fictional) national. These types of payment are very typical in many parts of the world and considered an accepted part of business, to the extent that the 'commissions' are often 'budgeted'.
Hmmm, keep another country safe from the evil S&W empire or use the $22MM to really help America?
You beat me to it, but I'm glad our uncoordinated numbers are reasonably close.
scheesman you are making up stories and believing them! "Potentially" doesn't mean squat! Have you ever heard the joke about the boy asking his dad the difference between potential and reality? You are naive to the way the OTHER 95% of the world turns. Yes it happens here too, but not anything like other places around the globe.Potentially multi-billion dollar contracts. Just because they got caught with a "small" order doesn't mean that they wouldn't have done the same thing to land the re-armament of (insert your favorite country here). And if you reread the article, you will see that 250 agents didn't work full time on it. It clearly states there's only 20 agents working current cases anyways. 250 probably includes the undercover agents on the other end, all arresting and transportation agents, the investigating agents, and all of the other "part time players" in this sting. I still stand by my position.