Ex-Eastern Foreman Guilty of Fraud
A former Eastern Airlines foreman pleaded guilty Monday to charges that he ignored vital maintenance and safety repairs and then falsified records to make it appear the work had been done.
Elia Dragone, 29, of Jersey City, N.J., was the first employee of the airline to plead guilty in a broad scheme that allegedly allowed unsafe airliners to fly.
Dragone, who worked at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, told a federal judge in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn that the fraud was orchestrated by his superiors at the airline.
Eastern and nine of its managers were charged last week in a 60-count criminal indictment.
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