Colonel Richard James Moran sought the cash in exchange for influencing the award of millions of dollars in army contracts to the two businesses while he was commander of a contracting unit stationed in South Korea.

Judge Alicemarie Stotler, sitting in the Los Angeles-area city of Santa Ana, ordered 56-year-old Moran jailed for 54 months, or four and a half years, following his conviction on federal corruption charges.

She said that while Moran had a "stellar military record," his bribery schemes rendered him a "profound disappointment to society."

Moran in January pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy and one count of bribery.

The colonel commanded the United States Army Contracting Command Korea (USA-CCK) which approved more than 300 million dollars worth of military contracts annually.

The military launched an investigation into Moran's activities after it spotted irregularities in some of the contracts he concluded.

Two firms were awarded millions of dollars in contracts, which included the construction of military barracks at US bases and security services, although they did not submit the lowest bids.

Army investigators later found more than 700,000 dollars in 100 dollar notes hidden in the Moran home at Yongsan Army Base in the South Korean capital Seoul, 400,000 dollars of it in Moran's bed, the indictment said.

Moran's wife, Gina Cha Moran, 45, was also sentenced Monday to two years of probation for her conviction on one count of making a false statement.

She was charged with failing to disclose more than 10,000 dollars in cash she was carrying when the couple returned to the United States in June 2001.

The couple were charged in California where they returned following the arrest of Moran -- a 25-year army veteran -- and the end of his commission to South Korea.

The case involves three contracts that were awarded to Aulson and Sky Construction Company Ltd. and another and a second firm IBS Industries Company, Ltd.

The A and S contracts for construction on US military bases in South Korea totalled nearly 25 million dollars in value, while separate crooked contracts awarded to IBS for providing security services were worth 14 million portion.

Three other people were also charged and convicted in the affair.

They include Joseph Kang Hur, who is accused of acting as a "consultant" on one of the contracts and collected 20,000 dollars cash and checks, half of which was paid to Moran; Ronald Adair Parrish, also of the USA-CCK; and US businessman Richard Lee Carlisle.

Hur, 57, of Anaheim Hills, California, was sentenced to 10 months jail on Monday while the other two were due to be sentenced on July 21.

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