Executive Guilty of Taking Kickbacks

An executive at a Hollister defense contractor pleaded guilty Monday to three federal charges of accepting $3,000 in kickbacks to provide work for a Fullerton company.

Donald Cleveland, a manager at Quantic Industries Inc., faces a sentence of 30 years in prison and a $750,000 fine. He remained free on bond Monday until his sentencing, which is scheduled for Jan. 8 in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.

Cleveland was accused of taking kickbacks from Richard J. Kern, an executive at in Fullerton. In two contracts for the Air Force and two for the Navy, Kern Engineering collected nearly $36,600 over a three-year period.

Kern, son of the company’s president, Roland Kern, pleaded guilty Friday to three charges of paying the kickbacks. He faces a similar term at his sentencing Dec. 18.