Chapter 9 - The Trap
Fallon was convicted on all counts.
He was sentenced to six years in federal prison, reduced to four for time served. He was also dismissed from the Army — the officer equivalent of a dishonorable discharge — and required to forfeit all pay and allowances.
His lawyer appealed. The appeal was denied by the Army Court of Criminal Appeals in March, and by the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in September, and by the Supreme Court in December. The convictions stood.
Gerald Voss and Curtis Blaine pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy in exchange for testimony against Fallon. They were each sentenced to three years in federal prison. They served their sentences at a minimum-security facility in Colorado and are currently on supervised release.
Meridian Culinary Solutions was dissolved. Its assets were auctioned. Its contract with the Army was terminated and re-bid. The new contract was awarded to a firm in Salina that had been in business for forty years and had never once been investigated by the FBI.
Rosa was promoted to master sergeant.
She had not applied for promotion. She had not been eligible, by the numbers. But the promotion board, which met in May, decided that her documentation of the discrepancies, her preservation of the seals, and her conduct at the banquet constituted exceptional service, and that she would be promoted effective 1 August.
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She was also awarded the Army Commendation Medal and the Department of the Army Civilian Achievement Medal, both of which she accepted at a small ceremony in the garrison conference room in July.
Ramsey was there. Colonel Wynn was there. Mrs. Pruitt was there. Elena was there, and she cried through the whole ceremony, and afterward she hugged her mother and said, "I'm proud of you," and Rosa said, "I know, honey. I'm proud of you too."
