Three charged in probe of Pentagon Iraq contracts

WASHINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) - A U.S. Army major accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes from contractors doing business with the Pentagon in Iraq and Kuwait, his wife and sister, have been charged in Texas, the U.S. Justice Department said.

Carolyn Blake, 44, was arrested on Tuesday night in Dallas, two days after federal agents arrested her brother, Maj. John Cockerham, 41, and his wife Melissa Cockerham, 40, in San Antonio, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.

Cockerham, was charged with bribery, money laundering and conspiracy stemming from his service as an Army contracting officer in Kuwait in 2004 and 2005.

Both his wife and his sister were charged with conspiracy to defraud the government and conspiracy to commit money laundering, the Justice Department said.