Plot to steal funds avowed

WASHINGTON – A former U.S. contracting official in Iraq admitted he conspired to steal more than $2 million in reconstruction money and to award contracts to a businessman in exchange for more than $1 million in cars, jewelry and cash.

Robert J. Stein Jr., 50, of Fayetteville, N.C., was expected to enter his guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Washington today. His would be the first conviction in a federal investigation that so far has implicated at least seven people.

Stein, a former contracting official for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, acknowledged his role in the conspiracy in a signed statement filed with the court.

The businessman, Philip H. Bloom, also faces federal conspiracy and money laundering charges. Bloom is not named in Stein’s statement, but has been identified by prosecutors and is in federal custody.

Five U.S. Army Reserve officers who worked in Iraq also were part of the conspiracy, according to court papers.