Straza Guilty on 2 More Federal Fraud Charges

George Straza, the former jet-parts manufacturer twice convicted of fraud in the last 4 1/2 years, was convicted Monday of one count of defrauding the United States and one count of making false statements.

Straza, 59, who was president of the now-defunct Jet Air Inc. in El Cajon, is serving a 4 1/2-year sentence in federal prison in Boron, Calif., for mail fraud in 1987 and for violating his probation in another case in 1984.

The Rancho Santa Fe businessman waived his right to a trial in the latest fraud case and pleaded guilty to both counts. He was sentenced by U. S. District Judge John S. Rhoades to three years in prison, to run concurrently with his current term, which began in January, 1988. He could be eligible for parole in about a year.

Straza was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine for each of the two counts and to pay an $800,000 civil settlement from his 1987 conviction as part of the plea-bargain agreement between Assistant U. S. Atty. George Hardy and his own attorney, Richard Marmaro.

Jet Air was also fined $10,000, which Straza must pay. He had faced a maximum of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine on each count.

Hardy said the two most important clauses in the plea-bargain agreement forbid Straza’s attorneys from filing any more appeals in the case and specify that Straza is barred for life from conducting any business with the federal government.

“We have completed our work on George Straza,” Hardy said. “There will be no pending appeal. This is the end of it.”

Monday’s sentencing completes a string of charges that began in 1984.

Straza was convicted of making false statements to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration about parts for the space shuttle. He also was convicted in 1987 for double dealing in jet parts by charging a government contractor for them, when in fact they had been sold to another company in Manhattan Beach.

In the latest charges, Straza admitted making false certifications to an Air Force contractor doing work on F-16s and F-15s.