2 at Litton Indicted in Defense Scandal

In the latest chapter in the Pentagon procurement scandal, two Litton Industries Inc. executives were indicted Tuesday on felony charges of allegedly conspiring to get inside information on defense contract bids in 1987.

Thomas D. McAusland, then-vice president of business development for Litton’s Data Systems unit in Van Nuys, and Christopher N. Pafort, then-director of business development for the same unit, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va.

Each was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of conversion of government property and four counts of wire fraud.

McAusland and Pafort could not be reached for comment. But Robert Knapp, a spokesman at Litton Industries’ corporate headquarters in Beverly Hills, said the company expects that the men “will strongly contest the charges and that they will deny any wrongdoing.”

The pair, who now hold jobs in international business development for Litton, have also been put on administrative leave “until this matter has been resolved,” Knapp said.

The company itself was not charged.

The indictment alleges that McAusland and Pafort arranged for Litton to pay $96,000 to a Washington consultant, Thomas E. Muldoon, to get inside information on the bidding process for three Marine Corps and Navy projects.

Muldoon is appealing his conviction on conspiracy and bribery charges stemming from another Pentagon fraud case in which he was sentenced to 27 months in prison, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Joseph Aronica.

The ongoing government probe of procurement violations, dubbed “Operation Ill Wind,” has resulted in 45 convictions of corporations, executives, government officials and others. More than $40 million has been recovered, Aronica said.