The $100,000 Belt Buckle

David H. Brooks made a lot of money selling body armor to the Defense Department for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan through a company, DHB Industries, that he led until 2006. But now Brooks stands accused of orchestrating a $190 million stock fraud scheme aimed at enriching himself and another top company employee, the New York Times reports.

In the course of Brooks' trial, currently underway on Long Island, New York, it was revealed that DHB Industries covered some $6 million in his personal expenses. Among the items paid for by the company (using, of course, dollars that came from the Defense Department and, ultimately, the taxpayers): "a $100,000 American-flag belt buckle encrusted with rubies, sapphires and diamonds."