Socket Wrench Cost $404 : Navy Paid $1,800 for Two Ashtrays; Refunds Sought

The Navy has paid $1,800 for two ashtrays for one of its planes and $404 for a socket wrench, according to an investigation by the House Government Operations Committee.

The purchases by the Miramar Naval Air Station near San Diego from the Grumman Aerospace Corp. of Bethpage, N.Y., go back to 1981 and surfaced as the latest examples in military spare parts buying practices that included payments of $426 for a hammer, $6,000 for a coffee maker and $600 for a toilet seat cover.

The disclosure prompted Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger on Wednesday to demand an immediate refund for “this gross overpricing.”

Ashtray Cost Refunded

Within hours, Grumman said that it would refund $4,270 for the cost of seven ashtrays bought since 1960, but refused to give back money spent on the wrenches or on a clamp that skyrocketed in price from $102 to more than $2,700.

Moreover, Grumman said that it will advise the Navy to “go elsewhere” for all three of those parts, a company spokesman said. “We don’t want to supply them anymore.”

An investigator for the House panel uncovered the billings that included $404.25 paid for a socket wrench in April, according to a congressional source.

The socket is used on bolts that attach the ejection seat of an F-14 fighter to the frame of the aircraft, the source said. Another for the same price was purchased in June, 1984, he said.

“They came out of a toolbox,” said the source, who spoke on condition he not be identified. “Now we’re trying to find out how much the rest of the toolbox cost and whether there are more suckers like that.”

In January, 1981, Miramar bought two ashtrays for its E-2C Hawkeye radar surveillance plane for $1,800--$900 each--but the price dropped in the following two years when four of them were purchased for $659.63 each, the source said.

Miramar justified the purchases by saying a “work stoppage” would result if the ashtrays were not acquired, the source quoted the purchase order as saying.

Navy Begins Investigation

A Navy spokesman at the San Diego base acknowledged the purchases, which included $2,710 paid for a clamp in April, 1983, that 16 months earlier cost $102. He said that a Navy investigation was begun “as soon as it was pointed out to us.”

“This is a type of abuse we just won’t tolerate,” said Cmdr. Tom Jurkowski. “We want to determine the causes of it. We don’t like it that we paid this kind of money for this flimsy ashtray. We’re fully admitting to the fact that the (House committee) staffer found it.”

In a statement, Weinberger said through Pentagon spokesman Michael Burch that the price paid for the ashtrays was found during a Navy inspection and that Navy officers responsible for the purchases may be dismissed.

“There is no excuse for paying $659 for an ashtray,” he said. “The practices which led to this gross overpricing were found during a Navy inspection. The Navy will not let the payment stand. An immediate refund will be obtained or the amount will be withheld from progress payments.

Dismissals Threatened

“Not only will the government recoup its money, but the Navy officers who authorized purchase will be disciplined. After a full investigation, if it’s found that there was ignorance or disregard of regulations, dismissals may be warranted.”

Rep. Jack Brooks (D-Tex.), chairman of the House committee, sent a letter to Navy Secretary John F. Lehman Jr. asking why the Navy gave Miramar a “satisfactory” rating on its contracting activities May 13 without discovering the prices paid for the ashtrays and wrenches.

“There is no question but that the ashtrays and the socket wrench could be purchased in the open market for a fraction of the purchase price,” he wrote.