Importer of Defective Condoms Sentenced for Bribery Attempt

A Los Angeles condom importer was sentenced to federal prison Friday for trying to bribe a Food and Drug Administration official to cover up his distribution of hundreds of thousands of defective condoms.

Max Naami, 52, owner of U.C. Imports, was ordered to serve one month in prison and three months under home detention at his sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler in Santa Ana.

More than 432,000 of the condoms wound up in stores in California, Florida, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas, prompting an FDA warning to retailers and consumers.

“Mr. Naami recklessly endangered public health and safety,” U.S. Atty. Nora M. Manella said in a statement after the sentencing.

More than 288,000 of the defective condoms were never recovered. They were manufactured in Malaysia by Dongkuk Techco Rubber Industries and sold under the brand names of Pamitex, Maxi, Black Jack, Magic and Ginza.

In November 1995, authorities said, Naami received a batch of 1.1 million condoms and distributed 432,000 of them without FDA clearance. When samples of the shipment were tested, FDA inspectors discovered that the condoms leaked.

Informed of the results, Naami offered a $2,000 bribe to FDA official Kevin Fritz to cover up the fact that he already had distributed many of the condoms and to allow him to sell the rest of them.

Naami could have received a maximum 15 years in prison for bribing a public official, but he pleaded guilty before going to trial.