DEFENSE

Israel Aid Probe Nets First Guilty Plea: Benjamin Sonnenschein, owner of two New Jersey defense firms, pleaded guilty to federal charges that he failed to report foreign currency transactions and a foreign bank account. Sonnenschein also agreed to return $2.8 million to the government. Sonnenschein was president of Yrret Co. and Air Tech, two firms in Fairlawn, N.J., which received $5.3 million in subcontracts from Pratt & Whitney and diverted most of it to former Israel Air Force Gen. Rami Dotan. Pratt & Whitney is under investigation for playing a role in assisting in the diversion of funds. Dotan is a central character in the federal probe into Israel’s diversion of U.S. military aid to improper uses.