Cubic Corp. Paid for Contract Data, Affidavit Claims

Cubic Corp.’s San Diego-based Defense Systems subsidiary allegedly paid a top Air Force civilian official for illegally obtained information that Cubic subsequently used to pursue at least three contracts, according to a document released earlier this week by a federal court in Maryland.

The previously sealed document alleges that Victor Cohen, the Air Force’s assistant secretary for acquisition, “illegally assisted” C. C. (Sam) Wellborn, president of Cubic Defense Systems, while Cubic sought contracts for air combat training systems, which generate most of Cubic’s revenue and profits.

The document, which also describes Cohen and Wellborn as engaging in “continuing criminal conduct,” is part of an affidavit that federal investigators filed with the court before a June 15 search of Cohen’s Washington-area home and office. It was unsealed Tuesday.

Cubic, which declined to comment on the document Wednesday, has maintained its innocence since the investigation became public knowledge in June. However, a Cubic official has acknowledged that federal investigators were seeking information about its air-combat training system when they searched Wellborn’s office at Cubic in San Diego on June 14.

Cohen, the Air Force’s chief tactical warfare expert, is the highest-ranking Defense Department official under scrutiny in the FBI’s nationwide investigation of procurement fraud.

The document alleges that Cohen funneled information to Wellborn through William Galvin, a Washington-based consultant who worked for several defense contractors, including Cubic. Galvin, whose Washington offices also were searched in June, is a key figure in the investigation.

“Cohen’s willingness to assist Cubic in obtaining government contracts can be traced to what is believed to be the receipt of a payment from Cubic,” according to the document.

The document is one of few court records so far released in connection with the probe. Judges around the country, at the request of federal investigators, have sealed most of the nearly 40 search warrants generated by the investigation. The probe has yet to result in indictments.

Parts of the document, which describes conversations that were recorded by wiretaps on Cohen’s telephones and a bugging device in his office, were deleted by federal officials. During those conversations, Galvin, Cohen and Wellborn allegedly discussed Cubic’s attempts to win Defense Department contracts during 1987 and 1988.

The conversations led federal investigators to conclude that “Cohen will provide illegal assistance to Cubic in its efforts to win” a contract to supply part of an air-combat-training system in Alaska.

Investigators alleged that records relating to a procurement involving Cubic in the Philippines “will also provide evidence of criminal conduct.”

And, investigators alleged, records relating to an F-18 fighter jet contract being sought by Cubic “will reveal evidence of criminal activity.”