Former Finance Director of California Valve Company Pleads Guilty to Bribing Foreign Government Officials

The U.S. Department of Justice reports in its press release (quotation, not an independent finding): “WASHINGTON – The former finance director of an Orange County, Calif.-based valve company pleaded guilty today in connection with his role in a conspiracy to pay approximately $628,000 in bribes to numerous foreign government officials, Acting Assistant Attorney General Rita M. Glavin of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien of the Central District of California, and Joseph Persichini Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, announced. Richard Morlok, 55, a resident of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James V. Selna in Santa Ana, Calif., to a one-count information charging him with conspiring to make corrupt payments to foreign government officials for the purpose of securing business for the Orange County-based valve company from state-owned enterprises in several countries, including China, Korea, Romania and Saudi Arabia, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). According to court documents, the valve company designed and manufactured service control valves for use in the nuclear, oil and gas, and power generation industries worldwide. Morlok was the finance director at the valve company from 2002 through 2007. In this position, Morlok oversaw the finance department and had responsibility for approving certain commission payments and signing off on wire transfers to the recipients of those commission payments. In connection with his guilty plea, Morlok admitted that from 2003 through 2006, he caused employees and agents of the valve company to make corrupt payments to”