Washington, D.C. ? Military officials promised changes Tuesday after a lashing by congressional Democrats and Republicans, who expressed anger and astonishment that a 21-year-old Miami Beach man with a spot on a State Department “watch list” and a history of offering excuses for failing to deliver on military contracts was awarded a $298 million deal to arm allied forces in Afghanistan.

A congressional investigation found that Efraim Diveroli – who’s now 22 – was granted the contract even though he, his company, AEY, and a supplier he worked with were on a State Department watch list for suspicious international arms dealers, said Rep. Henry Waxman, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Diveroli’s record, as compiled by the committee, included delivering damaged helmets to Iraq, falsely blaming a hurricane in Miami for failing to deliver 10,000 pistols to Iraq’s security forces and delivering the wrong model of laser pointer and rifle attachments to the U.S. Embassy in Colombia.