United Press International
February 3, 2005 Thursday 3:37 PM EST

Ex-State official indicted for bribery

WASHINGTON

A former official in the U.S. Embassy in Armenia has been indicted
for bribery and visa fraud in Washington, the Justice Department said
Thursday.

Zdzislaw Parlej, a U.S. citizen who served as consular associate in
Yerevan, was named in a 13-count indictment.

Officials said he was arrested Wednesday in Washington.

He faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the
counts, if convicted.

The indictment said from April 2004 through Jan. 13, Parlej and other
unnamed co-conspirators engaged in exchanging U.S. visas for cash.
The indictment singles out six separate incidents in which Parlej
allegedly took cash bribes of up to $10,000 in exchange for issuing
visas, regardless of whether the applicants were qualified.

Ambassador Frank Taylor, speaking for the State Department’s Bureau
of Diplomatic Security, said, “We are committed to investigating and
bringing to justice Department of State officials who use their
positions of trust to break the law.”