Carlucci Orders Pentagon Workers Linked to Bribe Probe Reassigned

Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci has issued a directive specifying that any Pentagon employee under scrutiny in the unfolding bribery investigation must be reassigned to a new job, a spokesman said today. Sources said six employees have been reassigned so far.

Confirming earlier reports from Pentagon sources, the spokesman, Dan Howard, said Carlucci directed that anyone who becomes “the subject of the investigation” must be given “duties that will not involve them in ongoing procurements or provide them access to information related to ongoing procurements.”

While no individual has been charged yet, “Secretary Carlucci took this action in the interest of ensuring that the ongoing procurements of the department are free from question,” Howard added.

The spokesman repeatedly declined to say how many Pentagon workers have been affected by Carlucci’s directive, referring all such queries to the Justice Department.

But Pentagon sources, demanding anonymity, later disclosed that the directive had so far led to reassignments for six employees--five identified last week in search warrants, plus a sixth, unidentified employee whose office was not searched but who also is under investigation.

5 Employees Identified

Efforts to learn the sixth employee’s identity and job were not immediately successful. The other five are:

--James E. Gaines, the deputy assistant Navy secretary for acquisition management.

--Victor D. Cohen, the deputy assistant Air Force secretary in charge of buying tactical command, control, communications and computer systems. His office was searched last week.

--George Stone, a Navy official in the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command.

--Stuart Berlin, an executive with the Naval Air Systems Command.

--Marine Corps official Jack Sherman, who works in the equipment and service acquisition section of the contracts division, installation and logistics department.

The move by Carlucci followed a high-level meeting on Monday at which Pentagon officials reportedly studied what actions they could take in the case.

Carlucci may also consider whether to suspend contracts with the companies involved in the investigation, including some of the biggest military suppliers in the country. The companies’ offices were searched last week in pursuit of illicitly obtained inside contracting information.

Suspension of contracts could be disruptive to the military, ruinous for contractors who live or die on government business and damaging to their employees.

One source said he doubted that so dramatic a step would be taken at this point because the Defense Department itself lacks information about the dimensions of the affair.

“I don’t think the FBI is sharing much with us yet,” he said.

The New York Times reported today that three additional defense contractors--Hercules Inc., Gould Inc. and Electronic Data Systems Corp., a General Motors subsidiary--acknowledged that they had been subpoenaed in the investigation.