Hazeltine, 2 Ex-Officials Barred From Federal Jobs

The Navy announced Thursday that it has indefinitely suspended Hazeltine Corp. and two of its former employees from doing business with the federal government, following a Jan. 6 decision by the firm and its former executives to plead guilty to charges that they had defrauded the government.

Hazeltine, a Long Island, N.Y., electronics firm, is a subsidiary of Emerson Electric Co., the nation’s 43rd-largest defense company. In 1988, Hazeltine had sales of $158 million. The two executives barred from conducting new business with the government are Joseph Colarusso, former executive vice president of Hazeltine, and former vice president for marketing, Charles F. Furciniti.

With the announcement, Hazeltine becomes the second defense company to lose its rights to bid on government contracts as a result of a two-year investigation of fraud and bribery in the defense procurement process. The Pentagon announced Wednesday that it had suspended Teledyne Electronics of Newbury Park, along with three Teledyne officials and a former employee of the firm.

$1.9-Million Payment

The investigation, called “Operation Ill Wind,” is expected to result in similar actions against as many as a dozen individuals and their firms, according to the Pentagon.

Last week, Hazeltine agreed to pay $1.9 million in fines, civil penalties and court costs in conjunction with its plea to the fraud charges.

In a prepared statement, a Hazeltine spokesman said the firm is “actively discussing with the Navy the steps needed to lift the suspension in the shortest possible time.”