Solid State, Unisem Face Indictments

A federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted Solid State Devices Inc. of La Mirada and Unisem International of Santa Fe Springs, accusing them of passing off standard commercial semiconductors as “high-reliability semiconductors” to the federal government and to government contractors. The semiconductors were used in products including the space shuttle, the F/A-18 Hornet fighter, and Titan and Atlas missiles. Four people who worked for the two companies were indicted on the same charges in October. Peter Jones, an attorney for Solid State Devices, called the indictments against the companies a retaliatory measure because an appeals court invalidated a search warrant used to build the government’s case. Executives for Unisem could not be reached for comment. This week the four individuals filed motions to have the indictments against them dismissed. Solid State Devices is privately held.