Jury Continues Deliberations in Defense Scandal

A jury continued deliberations Tuesday in the case of three businessmen indicted in the Pentagon corruption scandal.

For a second day, the jury, praised by U.S. District Judge Richard Williams for its diligence, weighed evidence in the case against Dale Schnittjer, Eugene R. Sullivan and George H. Kaub, former vice presidents of Teledyne Electronics of Newbury Park, Calif.

Much of the evidence was in the form of tape-recorded telephone conversations of the defendants. The tapes were made available to jurors if they wanted to listen to them again.

The defendants are charged with bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud. Kaub also is charged with filing false statements because of forms he authorized to be sent to the Defense Department.

The case, the first brought to trial in the government’s Ill Wind investigation, involves what prosecutors say was a conspiracy to bribe a Navy official for information about a $24-million contract that Teledyne obtained in July, 1987, to build hand-held radar test sets.

The government claims the defendants knew that William L. Parkin, a private consultant hired by Teledyne Electronics, was paying bribes to Stuart E. Berlin, the Navy official.

But the defendants said they had no clue that Parkin was anything but a legitimate consultant who ran a successful business helping defense contractors learn the ins and outs of Washington.

Kaub, Schnittjer and Sullivan testified that Parkin was hired in November, 1985, for $10,000 for his expertise. He was promised $150,000 if Teledyne won the radar contract, which it did.