Six years in the slammer for 4-Star Admiral Burke

Let me paint you a picture: Admiral Robert Burke, a guy who climbed all the way to the Navy's tip-top, four-star rank, living large as the second-highest officer in the U.S. Navy. We're talking a cushy $187,000 base pay when he retired in 2022 after 39 years of "service." His pension is a cool 87% of that amount, plus housing stipends and all the perks that come with being a big mucky muck. Not exactly scraping by, right? 

But for Burke, that wasn't enough. No, he wanted more. And he got it, by selling his soul for a bribe disguised as a fat corporate gig.

No "alleged" about it anymore. On Wednesday, the 62-year-old Coconut Creek, Florida, ex-admiral found out he's trading his stars for stripes, prison stripes: six years in a federal pen.

A jury nailed Burke on charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, straight-up bribery, acting on a personal financial conflict, and hiding key facts from the government. He's looking at six years locked up, three years of supervised release, and a bill for $322,850 in restitution plus $86,748.08 in forfeiture, per the U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C. [Guess who that is.]

Here's what U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro had to say, and she didn't hold back:

"Integrity -- not cash -- is the currency of public service. Admiral Burke rose to the pinnacle of the U.S. Navy, entrusted with leadership and honor. But instead of leading by example, he cashed in that trust,  turning four stars into dollar signs and trading duty for a corporate payday. Today's sentence sends a clear message: if you sell your honor and trade your influence, you'll pay the price, in prison time."

Let's rewind to 2021. Burke is nearing retirement, one year shy of a clean 40 in the Navy. He's already got his eyes on a sweet civilian gig with Jump Start, a company promising him a hefty $500,000 a year. But Burke isn't just daydreaming about retirement, he's working angles while still in uniform. 

Burke is leaning on Navy folks to funnel contracts to Jump Start. The company's co-CEOs, Meghan Messenger and Youngchul "Charlie" Kim, think they've got Burke in their pocket, a golden ticket to Navy deals. They meet him in July 2021, and here's where it gets dirty. 

The Department of Justice lays it out plain. At the meeting, the charged defendants allegedly agreed that Burke would use his position as a Navy Admiral to steer a sole-source contract to [Jump Start] in exchange for future employment at the company. They allegedly further agreed that Burke would use his official position to influence other Navy officers to award another contract to [Jump Start] to train a large portion of the Navy with a value Kim allegedly estimated to be "triple-digit millions."

Burke, still calling shots in 2021, pushes his staff to hand Jump Start a $355,000 contract for training Navy personnel in Italy and Spain. It lasts two months before the whole scheme starts crumbling. Another admiral, not drinking Burke's Kool-Aid, smells the sewage and shuts it down. Burke retires, slides into his Jump Start job, and thinks he's golden. So does Jump Start. 

Big mistake.

The DOJ catches wind, and by June 2024, Burke, Kim, and Messenger are in cuffs. Kim and Messenger's trial ends in a hung jury, bet the DOJ’s gearing up for round two or a plea deal. They're crying foul, saying Burke duped them. 

Burke's life is now a total train-wreck. Six years in prison, three on a leash, and he's coughing up over $400,000. Oh, and those four stars? Burke’s done. He’ll likely lose two stars and settle for a slashed pension. Disgrace doesn't even cover it.

Six years isn't enough for tarnishing the uniform like that. Burke didn't just betray the Navy, he spit on every sailor who served with honor.

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