Former Rockwell Executive Acquitted in Fraud Case
A former executive of Rockwell International was acquitted Friday of conspiring to defraud the government by overcharging the Air Force $446,000 for components of a satellite navigational system.
Donald H. Carter, 60, of Temecula, former director of the material division of Rockwell’s satellite systems division in Seal Beach, was acquitted by a federal court jury in Los Angeles of all six counts stemming from excessive billing by the aerospace giant in late 1982 and in 1983.
Carter would have faced 30 years in prison and a $540,000 fine if he had been convicted of all six counts of conspiracy, mail fraud and making false statements to the government.
“We could not find that he was a conspirator in a fraud,” said jury foreman Chris Datwyler, 48, a civil engineer from San Marino. “For my part, there was some element that he was performing . . . a very complex duty with many responsibilities and opportunities for mistakes.”
Robert Zavodnik, 46, of Fountain Valley, who worked under Carter as manager of major subcontracts, pleaded guilty in September and faces sentencing. Rockwell itself faces a non-jury trial Jan. 17.
Carter’s lawyer, Robert Perry, said he was “exceedingly pleased” with the verdict because “no one at Rockwell had any criminal intent whatsoever.” He added: “It was especially unfair to have Mr. Carter here on trial. He was a mid-level manager who merely did his job. These (contracts) are exceedingly complex matters. It’s a question of interpretation of complex concepts in cost-pricing data.”
Assistant U.S. Atty. George Newhouse said he was disappointed with the verdict and acknowledged that such cases are difficult to prove.
“We continue to believe crimes were committed and in January we’ll prove Rockwell was responsible,” he said.
Rockwell has contested the charges, arguing that it should not be criminally charged because it reported the circumstances of the case to the Air Force under a federal program that encourages voluntary disclosures by defense contractors. Rockwell said it repaid the money, fired one manager and disciplined another.
