Sylmar Bolt Firm Owner Gets 3 Years for Defense Fraud

Norman McHaffie, the owner of a small Sylmar defense subcontracting shop, was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $750,000 on Tuesday for his guilty plea to charges that his company falsified tests on millions of aerospace bolts over a 10-year period.

James Hicks, McHaffie’s quality control supervisor, was also sentenced to 1 1/2 years in prison. Last month, William Whitham, another employee, was sentenced to 20 weekends of incarceration and 150 hours of community service.

McHaffie’s sentence, imposed by Judge Wallace A. Tashima in U.S. District Court, was among the harshest on any of the dozens of defense industry executives in Southern California who have been convicted of fraud in recent years.

The bolts were used on some of the most sophisticated jet aircraft operated by the Pentagon, including B-1 bombers and F-14 jet fighters.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Stephen A. Mansfield said in an interview that the government has attempted to locate the bolts and remove them from use, but in many cases no record exists of where the bolts are now used.

The company, McHaffie Inc., submitted fraudulent certifications stating that the bolts had been tested and met government specifications, the government alleged in its indictment. In addition, in the few cases where McHaffie actually performed the required tests, the parts often failed, the Justice Department alleged.

Mansfield said the scheme that covered a 10-year period is believed to be the longest running fraud by a defense contractor uncovered against the government.

In addition to the three-year sentence, McHaffie, 57, of Sylmar, was sentenced to three years’ probation. In addition to the $750,000 personal fine, the defunct McHaffie Inc. was fined $750,000. Mansfield said there are still assets that can be seized from the company.

Hicks, 46, of Sepulveda, was also sentenced to two years’ probation.

During the sentencing hearing, McHaffie claimed that the scheme was Hicks’ idea and Hicks claimed that it was McHaffie’s idea, Mansfield said. The judge decided it was McHaffie’s idea, Mansfield said.