Boeing Tankers Court Case

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Ex-Boeing official pleads guilty

(Reuters) A former U.S. Air Force acquisitions official Tuesday pleaded guilty to conspiracy for discussing a job with Boeing Co. while still overseeing its business dealings with the Air Force.

Darleen Druyun, 56, who retired as the Air Force's No. 2 acquisition official in November 2002 and took a job with Boeing two months later, agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, who are still investigating Michael Sears, the former Boeing chief financial officer who hired her.

Court documents filed in the case Tuesday cite meetings that Druyun had with an unnamed "senior executive" at Boeing about a possible job while she was still involved with consideration of a $23.5 billion Air Force plan to lease and buy 100 Boeing 767s as refueling planes. That deal has been sharply criticized by the Pentagon inspector general and other agencies as well as some members of Congress.

In one of the documents, it is alleged the senior executive met with Druyun on Oct. 17, 2002, about three weeks before she disqualified herself from considering business involving Boeing. The executive allegedly told her, "This meeting really didn't take place."

Last week, the inspector general said the Air Force also improperly awarded Boeing a $1.32 billion contract for NATO surveillance-plane upgrades that was negotiated by Druyun.

Boeing fired Druyun and Sears on Nov. 24, 2003, saying the two violated company ethics rules by discussing a Boeing job for Druyun while she was still working on Boeing-related Air Force programs and then tried to cover it up. Boeing Chairman and CEO Phil Condit resigned a week later.

Druyun entered her guilty plea in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Boeing issued a statement saying it had cooperated fully in the investigation.

"Today's action by the U.S. Attorney's office is the result of Boeing voluntarily reporting unethical conduct to the U.S. Attorney and other government agencies last November," it said. It tried to defend the tanker deal, which is still under fire from critics.

"It is important to note the charge announced today relates to conflict-of-interest in Ms. Druyun's hiring and is not related to Boeing business, its financial performance or the 767 Tanker program," said the company's statement.

Source: CNN

A related article regarding the NATO deal:

Watchdog faults Boeing NATO deal

The U.S. Air Force improperly awarded a $1.32 billion NATO surveillance-plane upgrade contract to the Boeing Co., the Pentagon's chief inspector said Thursday.

The deal was negotiated by Darleen Druyun, the Air Force's former No. 2 procurement official who later was hired by Boeing, said Inspector General Joseph Schmitz, an internal watchdog.

Druyun is scheduled to plead guilty on Tuesday to a felony count of conspiracy and to cooperate with prosecutors investigating a possibly tainted $23.5 billion Air Force plan to lease and buy Boeing 767s as refueling planes.

Air Force contracting officials awarded the NATO Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) contract in December 2002 ''without knowing whether the $1.32 billion cost was fair and reasonable,'' Schmitz wrote.

Chicago-based Boeing, the Pentagon's No. 2 supplier, said it had volunteered to renegotiate the contract even though, it said, Schmitz did not "point to or suggest any wrongdoing'' by Boeing.

"That process is under way,'' said George Muellner, Boeing's senior vice president for air force systems. "Our goal is to minimize any impact to our customer's schedule and to avoid any additional cost stemming from a delay.''

Each of the 13 nations that takes part in NATO's AWACS program pays an undisclosed share of the bill. The aircraft were used to patrol the skies over major U.S. cities after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Source: Chicago Business
 

gf0012-aust

Grumpy Old Man
Staff member
Verified Defense Pro
They're already paying a large price for this. It's interesting to note that the the NATO replacement AGS offered by Northdrop Grumman Martin is on an Airbus A321 platform.
 
A

Aussie Digger

Guest
As gf pointed out, Boeing certainly are paying for this. This controversy probably cost Boeing, the Australian air to air refuelling contract.
 
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