7 Indictments in Pentagon Scandal and 4 Guilty Pleas : Teledyne Accused of Bribery

A federal grand jury today returned the first indictment in the 2-year-old Pentagon procurement scandal, charging a Navy employee, a Southern California defense contractor and five individuals with crimes.

At the same time, defense contractor Hazeltine Corp. of Greenlawn, N.Y., two former employees and an employee of Newbury Park, Calif.-based Teledyne Electronics pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the probe--the first pleas of their kind in the massive investigation.

Central to the indictment--which charges conspiracy, racketeering, bribery and theft of government property--are the activities of Stuart E. Berlin, a Navy procurement specialist, and private consultants William L. Parkin and Fred H. Lackner. The three also were named in connection with the charges that were settled with the guilty pleas earlier in the day.

If convicted of all charges in the indictment, Berlin, Parkin and Lackner would face maximum penalties of 185 years in prison and fines of $5.5 million each, U.S. Atty. Henry Hudson told a packed news conference.

Teledyne, the Southern California defense contractor named in the indictment, had agreed to pay Parkin’s firm $160,000 to secure inside information in obtaining a Navy contract, the government charged.

Part of the conspiracy, the indictment said, involved Parkin’s agreement to pay Berlin bribes for the information.

Also named in the indictment were Teledyne employees George H. Kaub, Eugene R. Sullivan and Dale Schnittjer.

The overall conspiracy count against all the defendants said they conspired to defraud the Navy and the Air Force, to bribe a public official, to make false statements and to commit wire fraud.

Help With Contract

Part of the conspiracy involved Berlin’s agreement with Lackner that Berlin would assist Teledyne Electronics win a contract in return for money, the indictment said.

The Justice Department said in an affidavit released this week that Berlin received about $1,000 every few months from Parkin and Lackner in exchange for giving them classified documents.

The language in the indictment indicated that the consultants were getting their information from Berlin, the only government employee indicted in the case.

In advance of the indictment, Teledyne’s attorney, Thomas Patten, said the company had been offered a deal by the government but was unsatisfied with the terms.

The guilty pleas were entered earlier today before Judge Claude M. Hilton in U.S. District Court here.

Hazeltine, a division of Emerson Electric Co., agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States, conversion of government property and making false statements to the government.

Two former Hazeltine employees, Joseph Colarusso, 58, who was the company’s senior vice president, and Charles Furciniti, 54, who was a marketing representative, pleaded guilty to one count of defrauding the government and committing wire fraud.

The maximum sentence they could face is five years in jail and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing was set for March 17.

Michael Savaides, 41, a Teledyne employee, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery. He too could be sentenced to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.