Congressman Hints Navy Collusion in Ashtray Case

Officials at Miramar Naval Air Station, under investigation for improprieties including paying $1,800 for two airplane ashtrays, are purportedly “destroying letters and backdating files” that may show widespread collusion between the Navy and Grumman Corp., Rep. Jim Bates (D-San Diego) charged Monday.

Bates said he has been told by sources close to and within the air base’s purchasing department that pertinent documents have disappeared in recent days, while other documents, some with dates months old, have mysteriously appeared in files.

Bates did not specify what the documents say. He said he is “in the process” of obtaining sworn affidavits from purchasing employees and added that he is seeking help from other members of Congress to expand the investigation of purchasing practices at Miramar.

“I think that there may be evidence that shows a form of collusion between the Navy and Grumman that would have broader implications than simply a pricing error on one particular item,” Bates said.

“If there’s collusion with Grumman . . . it seems to me that it becomes more than a Defense Department issue. It becomes a criminal matter, and the U.S. attorney or the U.S. grand jury might be empaneled,” he said.

Assertion Dismissed

A Navy public affairs officer at the Pentagon discounted Bates’ assertion of an improper relationship between Grumman and the Navy, while Michael Drake, a Grumman spokesman at the company’s headquarters on Long Island, N.Y., dismissed it outright.

“I can tell you that that there’s been no collusion between the Navy and Grumman to do anything,” Drake said.

After it was disclosed publicly that the Navy had paid Grumman for the exorbitantly priced ashtrays and two other small, aircraft-related items, the Pentagon on Thursday relieved Miramar’s base commander, Capt. Gary E. Hakanson, of his duties.

Also relieved of duties were the base’s supply officer, Cmdr. Jerry L. Fronabarger, and Rear Adm. Thomas J. Cassidy Jr., commander of the Navy’s Fighter Airborne Early Warning Wing in the Pacific, which includes Miramar.

All three officers have said they had no knowledge of the specific transactions for which they were ultimately relieved of duties.

On Friday, the Navy appointed a rear admiral to investigate purchasing procedures at the base.