Agence France Presse — English
February 4, 2005 Friday 1:01 PM GMT

US consular worker in Armenia arrested for bribe-taking

YEREVAN

A US consular worker in Armenia has been arrested in Washington and
faces up to 15 years in jail for allegedly taking bribes for entrance
visas issued to Armenians wishing to travel to the United States,
officials said Friday.

The US State Department accuses Piotr Zdzislaw Parlej, a US national,
of taking bribes of up to 10,000 dollars (7,700 euros) for issuing
entry visas to unqualified candidates, according to the inidctment.

It is unclear how many improper visas Parlej issued or how much money
in bribes he had received. The United States has a thriving Armenian
diaspora, with families frequently traveling between the two
countries.