Firm Also Accused of Scheme to Push Products : Salesman Indicted in Alleged Bribery of Navy Workers
A San Diego salesman and the chemical supply firm he represented were indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury on charges they bribed employees of the Navy Public Works Center.
Harold Irwin Levine, 31, and Polytech Industries of Los Angeles were named in a nine-count indictment.
Levine, Polytech’s principal salesman in San Diego County, offered television sets, videocassette recorders, microwave ovens and other appliances to mechanics and repair personnel at the Public Works Center, prosecutors alleged in the indictment.
In return for the electronic goods, the mechanics were to recommend that the Navy buy Polytech products, prosecutors alleged. Polytech supplies chemicals the Navy uses to maintain its air conditioning and refrigeration equipment, they said.
Levine and Polytech were charged with one count of conspiracy to bribe and eight counts of bribery.
Possible Sentence
If convicted, Levine faces a maximum of five years in federal prison on the conspiracy count and 15 years apiece on each of the eight bribery charges, or a total of 125 years, Assistant U.S. Attorney George D. Hardy said.
He also faces a fine of up to $250,000 on the conspiracy charge and fines of up to three times the value of the bribes alleged in the eight other charges, Hardy said.
The value of the bribes is still uncertain, Hardy said. “I don’t really have a figure on that,” he said. “We haven’t sat down and come up with a dollar amount. I’m not going to even throw one out.”
Polytech faces a fine of up to $500,000 on each count, Hardy said.
Four Navy employees pleaded guilty this month and last to misdemeanor charges in connection with the scheme, Hardy said. All were charged with “receiving extra salary for government work,” and remain free on bail pending sentencing, he said.
The indictment alleged that Levine not only offered merchandise but also set up a “point system” under which mechanics received credit toward goods for each $100 worth of Polytech chemicals ordered.
The plan operated primarily in 1987 and 1988, it said.
In addition to Polytech, prosecutors are “looking at other companies who worked with PWC,” Hardy said.
