Justice Department Stumbles in Closely Watched Foreign-Bribery Case

The Justice Department claimed victory on Monday in the abruptly concluded foreign-bribery trial of Miami businessman Joseph Sigelman. But a close look at Sigelman's guilty plea reveals a prosecution in disarray and a defendant who will walk away with minimal punishment.

Sigelman, the founder and former chief executive of a Colombian oil field-services provider called PetroTiger, pleaded guilty in federal court in Camden, N.J., to conspiring to pay bribes to an official of the Colombian national oil company in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Or that's what the Justice Department emphasized in a triumphant-sounding press announcement listing no fewer than seven federal prosecutors, including the assistant U.S. attorney general in charge of the department's criminal division.