The Nation : Army Cuts Bell Payments

The Army announced that it is reducing by half the monthly contract payments of $13 million to Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., one of the Army’s main suppliers of helicopters, and that the company is facing a criminal investigation because of allegedly fraudulent billings for spare parts. The disclosures were made by Army Secretary John O. Marsh Jr. and Ronald C. H. Eddins, an assistant U.S. attorney in Fort Worth, where Bell Helicopter Textron maintains its headquarters. Eddins confirmed that he has been conducting a criminal investigation of the company for the last year.