Firm Owner Charged With Paying Kickbacks to Defense Contractor

A Laguna Hills man was charged Tuesday with paying $7,200 in kickbacks to a buyer from defense contractor Parker Hannifin Corp. to obtain subcontracts on two military projects.

Francisco Santos, 46, was charged with two federal counts of paying kickbacks and one count of submitting a false tax return by claiming the payments as deductions for his Santa Ana company, Santos Precision Inc.

If convicted of all the charges, Santos faces a maximum penalty of nine years in prison and a $270,000 fine, Assistant U.S. Atty. Brian Hennigan said.

The charges say Santos paid kickbacks on two occasions to Parker Hannifin buyer Donald Brewer, who is serving prison time for accepting bribes.

Santos allegedly paid Brewer $3,800 on Oct. 22, 1984, to give Santos Precision a subcontract for work on an Air Force training plane for fighter pilots, the charges said.

Santos also is accused of paying Brewer $3,500 on Jan. 27, 1984, for another subcontract for a project that was identified in court papers only as a “classified military program.”