Senior Army official caught on video with woman trying to win $4 billion contract with Army

Video footage has surfaced of a senior Army official kissing and touching a female contractor who was competing for $4 billion advertising contract that he was overseeing.

The video was captured on October 4, 2017 and purports to show married Army official James Ortiz, 62, kissing McCann Worldgroup executive Molly Berkeley, 48, on a dance floor at the Birchmere, in Alexandria, Virginia.

James Ortiz was director of marketing for the Army since 2013.  Berkeley helped lead McCann Worldgroup’s Army account until she stepped down after the release of this video.

McCann has handled the Army’s marketing strategy for the past decade and is behind the ‘Army Strong’ campaign. It is currently competing for an extension of its contract worth an estimated $4 billion.

In Ortiz’s Army position he oversaw the agency’s marketing plan for the Army and supervised the program managers who signed off on McCann’s invoices.

The video appears to be clear evidence of an improper relationship between the Army and McCann Worldgroup, which could have led to fraud and abuse. DailyMail.com, which broke the story, claims to have uncovered “multiple complaints filed against Army marketing leadership by employees who say they were threatened or harassed after they raised concerns about waste and abuse in the McCann contract.”

A spokesperson for the Army said Ortiz’s relationship with Berkeley is currently under investigation.  They confirmed that Ortiz is still employed but has been reassigned as an advisor to the marketing department.

‘When Army Marketing and Research Group (AMRG) leadership became aware of allegations of possible inappropriate conduct between a member of the AMRG staff and a defense contractor in December 2017, the employee was removed from the Director of Marketing position, all duties associated with our advertising contract and contractor, and reassigned within the organization,’ said Army spokesperson Alison Bettencourt.

Calendar entries for the Army marketing department conflict with what the Army spokesperson claims, as they suggest Ortiz is still active in a position of authority within the department.

On February 20, Ortiz held a meeting with top officials to discuss the department’s marketing strategy and operations for the upcoming fiscal year.

McCann Worldgroup and Ortiz declined to comment.

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