Judge Imposes Gag Order in U.S. Fraud Case

A gag order was imposed by a federal judge Friday on lawyers involved in the government’s fraud case against General Dynamics Corp., which is accused along with four executives of conspiring to cheat the Department of Defense out of $3.2 million on the Sgt. York anti-aircraft gun.

U.S. District Judge Ferdinand F. Fernandez in Los Angeles granted a defense motion for the order so that the disclosure of information outside of court would not “interfere with a fair trial.”

General Dynamics attorney Stephen D. Miller said the order, which was not opposed by federal prosecutors, was a precautionary measure to ensure fairness to the defendants and was not prompted by news coverage the case has attracted. The judge granted the order in a hearing in which the opposing sides argued about witness lists and other pretrial materials.

General Dynamics and four of its past and present executives are accused of defrauding the Army on a $39-million contract to build two prototypes of the Sgt. York gun, which was never fully developed. Among the executives accused is James M. Beggs, 59, former head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and a former General Dynamics executive vice president.

The case is scheduled to go to trial Oct. 14.