FORMER U.S. CONSULAR ASSOCIATE PLEADS GUILTY TO BRIBERY, VISA FRAUD CONSPIRACY

US Fed News
March 9, 2005 Wednesday 1:26 AM EST

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic
Security issued the following press release:

Former United States Consular Associate Piotr Zdzislaw Parlej, 45,
entered a plea of guilty today, March 8, 2005, to the charge of
engaging in a conspiracy to take bribes in exchange for issuing
fraudulent visas.

United States District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle, of the District of
Columbia, set sentencing for July, 2005. Parlej, who has remained
jailed since his arrest on February 2, 2005, will continue to be
detained pending sentencing.

The charge carries a potential penalty of 5 years in prison and a
$250,000 fine.

In pleading guilty, Parlej admitted that from at least April 2004
through about January 13, 2005, while employed by the Department
of State and assigned as a consular officer at the United States
Embassy in Yerevan, Armenia, he and several co-conspirators arranged
for foreign nationals to obtain United States nonimmigrant visas,
for which they were not eligible, in exchange for cash payments. He
also admitted to six specific instances where he took and agreed to
take bribes totaling at least $45,000 for fraudulently issuing visas.

Parlej was indicted in the District of Columbia on February 2,
2005, shortly before his arrest. His State Department employment was
terminated shortly thereafter.

Diplomatic Security is the worldwide law enforcement and security arm
of the U.S. Department of State with special agents assigned to U.S.
diplomatic missions overseas and field offices throughout the United
States. Diplomatic Security special agents conduct passport and visa
fraud investigations worldwide and are responsible for security at
285 U.S. diplomatic facilities around the world.