Second Ex-Intelsat Official Admits Fraud

A second former high-ranking official of Intelsat pleaded guilty to fraud charges in federal court Friday as part of a 2-year-old investigation of an “insider” scheme that allegedly bilked the international satellite communications agency out of $4.8 million.

Jose L. Alegrett of Venezuela, the agency’s former deputy director general, entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell.

Gets 6-Year Prison Term

His former boss, one-time Director General Richard R. Colino, pleaded guilty last year, received a six-year prison sentence and was ordered to pay $865,000 for his leading role in the scheme.

Alegrett, who reportedly cooperated in the investigation, will be sentenced on Dec. 5. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Two other associates of Colino--Manuel G. Serra, a real estate dealer, and Charles C. Gerrell, a mortgage broker--also have pleaded guilty in the scheme.

Intelsat operates the communications network that transmits most of the world’s international telephone calls and television broadcasts.

Funds Put in Swiss Banks

U.S. Atty. Jay B. Stephens said that most of the illicit funds obtained by the Intelsat executives were funneled into secret Swiss bank accounts. Stephens said that Alegrett and Colino rigged bids for construction of new buildings for Intelsat’s world headquarters in Washington and then received kickbacks from contractors and consultants.

In addition, they arranged for inflated fees to be paid to Serra and Gerrell, on condition that the recipients pay them more than $200,000 each, the government charged.

With the United States taking a leadership role, Intelsat was founded in 1964 to coordinate the worldwide use of satellite communications technology, which was just emerging. The consortium now has 115 member countries and 14 satellites coordinated from a Washington command center.

Pair Fired by Agency

Colino and Alegrett were fired by the agency in December, 1986, after an internal audit discovered that approximately $5 million had been misspent on construction projects.

Alegrett was arrested last July in Aruba, where he was attending a meeting. Stephens said the case demonstrates that “the long arm of the law will reach beyond our water’s edge to bring to justice those who seek to defraud our citizens and corrupt public and international institutions.”