Defense Probe Figure Lackner Pleads Guilty

A somber Fred H. Lackner of Woodland Hills, Calif., pleaded guilty Friday to federal conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery charges in the continuing Ill Wind investigation into corruption in Pentagon weapons-buying.

Lackner, a 52-year-old free-lance defense consultant, admitted paying about $6,000 in bribes to a Navy official for inside information on military contracts.

U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton read the three charges to Lackner and asked him how he pleaded. “Guilty,” the consultant replied each time in a quiet but firm voice.

To Cooperate in Probe

Lackner faces 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines. Under terms of the plea-bargain agreement, he will testify against other suspects in the procurement investigation.

Lackner and his attorney, James A. Twitty, refused to comment on the plea.

His admission closed a circle that included Alexandria, Va., defense consultant William L. Parkin and Navy electronics specialist Stuart E. Berlin, both of whom earlier had confessed to their roles in the scheme.

Teledyne Industries Inc. of Newbury Park, Calif., and Hazeltine Corp. of Long Island, N. Y., also have pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in the case. Teledyne will pay penalties of as much as $8.4 million; Hazeltine was fined $1.9 million.

Executives Face Trial

The trial of three Teledyne executives on related charges is scheduled to begin Monday. They are expected to argue that they authorized payments to the consultants but did not know that the money would be used to bribe a public official.

Prosecutors now have obtained 14 guilty pleas on charges arising from the three-year Ill Wind investigation. Officials have described the inquiry as the broadest investigation ever into corruption in the military’s $150-billion-a-year procurement system.

Federal prosecutors, under the direction of Henry E. Hudson, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, are continuing to build cases against a number of defense consultants and Pentagon officials who have not been indicted.

Documents in the case show that Lackner served as the conduit for money and information passing between consultant Parkin and Navy official Berlin. Parkin found corporate clients willing to pay large fees for inside information on military contracts; Berlin sold the information to his longtime friend, Lackner, who passed it to Parkin.

Described as Go-Between

“Berlin’s role was to provide information and whatever influence he could on the procurement,” according to the statement of facts accompanying Lackner’s plea agreement. “Lackner’s role was to act as a go-between for Parkin and Berlin so that they would not deal directly with each other.”

Teledyne and Hazeltine agreed to pay Parkin about $200,000 for the inside information. He split his fees with Lackner and a former Teledyne executive, Michael Savaides. The three men chipped in a total of about $6,000 to give Berlin, telling him that the fees were much smaller than they actually were.

Lackner’s sentencing is scheduled for June 30.