After four months of proceedings, Lieutenant William Calley is found guilty on 22 counts of premeditated murder for his role in the My Lai massacre and sentenced to life in prison. Calley becomes the only person convicted for the mass killing of between 347 and 504 unarmed Vietnamese civilians, …
Lieutenant William CalleyPresident Richard NixonSecretary of the Army Howard CallawayLieutenant General William Peerswar-crimesinstitutional-corruptiongovernment-deceptionmilitary-corruptionaccountability-failure
U.S. Army soldiers from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment massacre between 347 and 504 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians—mostly women, children, elderly men, and infants—in the village of My Lai during a search-and-destroy mission. Led by Lieutenant William Calley, …
Lieutenant William CalleyCaptain Ernest MedinaCharlie Company 1st Battalion 20th Infantry RegimentHugh Thompson Jr. (helicopter pilot who intervened)U.S. Armywar-crimesmilitary-corruptiongovernment-deceptioninstitutional-corruptioncover-up
After Union naval forces under David G. Farragut capture New Orleans in spring 1862, General Benjamin F. Butler is appointed military governor of the occupied city, beginning one of the most controversial and corrupt episodes of the Civil War. Butler’s brief tenure becomes notorious for …
Benjamin F. ButlerAndrew ButlerDavid G. FarragutAbraham Lincolnmilitary-corruptionwar-profiteeringcotton-tradenew-orleansaccountability-failure
General James Wilkinson, the highest-ranking federal official ever tried for treason and espionage, commands two unsuccessful military invasion campaigns in the St. Lawrence River valley theater in Canada during the War of 1812 while simultaneously accepting kickbacks from contractors and receiving …
General James WilkinsonSpanish EmpireU.S. Army contractorsPresident James Madisonmilitary-corruptionespionagecontractor-fraudaccountability-evasionelite-impunity