Whittaker Unit, 2 Ex-Officials Plead Guilty to Bribery
A subsidiary of Los Angeles-based Whittaker Corp., two of its former executives and a San Diego defense consultant pleaded guilty Tuesday to bribing a Marine Corps procurement official to pad the firm’s electronic contracts with the Pentagon.
In addition, a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., on Tuesday indicted Washington defense consultant Thomas E. Muldoon and former Whittaker official Leonard L. Ingram on bribery, fraud and conspiracy charges in connection with the scheme.
Whittaker will pay $3.5 million in fines and reimbursements for its role in a bribery, fraud and kickback arrangement involving former Marine Corps purchasing official Jack A. Sherman, who has already pleaded guilty to taking more than $40,000 in payoffs from the firm and its consultants over six years.
Former Whittaker executives Scott M. Lamberth and John F. Van Tassel and San Diego defense consultant Donald L. Illeman also pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Alexandria to bribery charges. They each face a maximum of 15 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Lamberth, former president of Whittaker Command & Control Systems, faces an additional five years in jail and $250,000 in fines on a conspiracy count.
The pleas bring to 23 the number of individuals who have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to charges arising from the sweeping “Ill Wind” investigation into corruption in Pentagon weapons buying. Whittaker is the third firm to admit guilt in the scandal, which broke in June, 1987. Teledyne Inc., based in Los Angeles, and Hazeltine Corp. of Long Island, N.Y., earlier pleaded guilty to fraud charges in the Pentagon scandal.
In a statement, Whittaker said the individuals and corporate entities involved in the bribery scheme were affiliated with Lee Telecommunications Corp., which Whittaker acquired in 1986, and that officials of the parent company were unaware of the illicit activities.
Substantial Reorganization
Lee Telecommunications was merged into the Whittaker Command & Control Systems subsidiary, which has since been folded into Whittaker Electronic Systems, based in Simi Valley.
Ingram, Lamberth and Van Tassel are no longer employed by the company, the statement said.
The parent firm, Whittaker Corp., is headquartered in Westwood. The company, which will have about $500 million sales during the fiscal year ending Oct. 31, is going through a substantial reorganization and recapitalization, Vice President Edward R. Muller said. The firm manufactures radar, communications and electronic countermeasures gear for military applications.
The Whittaker affair closely mirrors the pattern already established in previous Ill Wind prosecutions, federal officials said.
Company executives, eager to win or retain lucrative defense contracts, paid large sums to consultants who promised access to Pentagon officials and inside information. In Whittaker’s case, Lamberth and Van Tassel used three different consultants to funnel at least $43,500 to Sherman between 1982 and 1988 in exchange for his help in winning contract extensions and enhancements.
In return for payoffs and kickbacks, Sherman used his authority and influence to increase the value of a Whittaker contract for a battlefield air traffic control system to $3.6 million from $540,000, according to the company’s plea agreement.
December Sentencing
Sherman allegedly intervened on the company’s behalf on several other contracts--including one that grew to $2.6 million from $600,000--in return either for direct payoffs or a percentage of the additional business, the court papers said.
In April, Sherman was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to repay the $43,500 in bribes that he admitted taking.
The third consultant employed by Whittaker, John Marlowe of Alexandria, has been granted immunity from prosecution in the case because he agreed earlier to serve as an informer and led investigators to some of the key figures in the scandal.
Sentencing for Lamberth, Van Tassel and Illeman has been set for Dec. 15.
