Guilty Pleas Expected: A Huntington Beach toolmaking...

Guilty Pleas Expected: A Huntington Beach toolmaking firm and its owners are expected to plead guilty Monday in federal court to charges of illegally paying $50,000 in kickbacks to a buyer at a Los Angeles defense subcontracting firm, a federal prosecutor said. Stjepan Herceg, half-owner of Advanced Cutting Tools Inc., is expected to be in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles for arraignment on one count of conspiracy to pay kickbacks to a buyer for Garrett Industrial Supply Co. Herceg’s partner, Richard S. Berry, is expected to be arraigned Sept. 16 on two counts of mail fraud, as is the company itself, Advanced Cutting Tools, which makes solid carbide cutting tools used for drilling and reaming. All three defendants are expected to enter guilty pleas, Assistant U.S. Atty. Jeffrey Eglash said. Herceg’s attorney could not be reached but Thomas L. McDonald, attorney for Berry and Advanced Cutting Tools, confirmed that they were expected to plead guilty.