The Navy’s former No. 2 officer on Monday was found guilty of bribery and other counts related to steering work to a company in exchange for a job after leaving the service, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Retired Adm. Robert Burke, former Navy vice chief of naval operations, was convicted of bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery, performing acts affecting a personal financial interest and concealing material facts. His conviction makes him the senior-most member of the U.S. military ever found guilty of committing a federal crime while serving on active duty.
“When you abuse your position and betray the public trust to line your own pockets, it undermines the confidence in the government you represent,” said interim U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement. “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.”
Burke, 63, of Coconut Creek, Fla., was arrested last year and charged with the crimes along with the co-CEOs of technology services firm Next Jump — the company he joined after retirement — Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger.
Kim and Messenger, both of New York, were each charged with bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery, according to the case’s unsealed indictment. They face trial in August, which is when Burke will be sentenced.
The saga marks a devastating blow to the Navy, which in the past several years has struggled with the loss of confidence in numerous top officers, command failures and bribery scandals.
Burke, who served aboard attack and ballistic missile submarines, rose through the ranks to eventually become chief of naval personnel in 2016 followed by vice chief of naval operations in June 2019. He then took command of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and Allied Joint Forces Command in June 2020 before retiring in summer 2022.
Kim and Messenger, meanwhile, via their company Next Jump, provided a workforce training pilot program to a small component of the Navy from August 2018 through July 2019. The deal appeared to turn sour, however, and the Navy terminated a contract with the company in late 2019 and directed it not to contact Burke.
But in summer 2021, Messenger and Kim met with Burke in Washington, D.C., to reestablish their company’s business relationship with the Navy. While at the meeting, the two “agreed that Burke would use his position as a Navy Admiral to steer a contract” to their firm — as well as influence other Navy officers to award another contract to the company — in exchange for his future employment there, according to the Justice Department.
Burke in December 2021 then ordered his staff to award a $355,000 contract to Next Jump to train personnel under Burke’s command in Italy and Spain, which the company performed in January 2022.
Burke was accused of making several false and misleading statements to the Navy to conceal the scheme, such as implying that his discussions to join Next Jump began months after the contract was awarded.
In October 2022, Burke began working at Next Jump with an annual salary of $500,000 and a grant of 100,000 in stock options.
Burke’s convictions of bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery are punishable by up to 20 years in prison, while the other charges are punishable by up to 30 years.
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