The State - News from May 12, 1986

A Chico firm is demanding $53,800 from the Navy for a sophisticated aerial spraying system--capable of being used for chemical and biological warfare--that it mistakenly bought for $976 in 1982. The company, Aero Union Corp., bought four “Aero 14-A” spraying systems and eight additional components at a sale of surplus military hardware at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Orange County. Advised that the equipment was put on the surplus list by mistake, the company agreed to return the hardware--as long as it was reimbursed for labor, storage and expenses such as hotels and meals. That comes to $53,800, said Aero Union general manager Victor Alvistur. Records show that the spraying equipment actually cost the government more than $108,000.