Metals Processor Is Accused of Fraud
A Southern California company that contracted to strengthen aluminum parts used in a wide range of aircraft--from Boeing jetliners to military fighters and helicopters--has been indicted by a Los Angeles federal grand jury on charges of deliberately performing shoddy work and falsifying quality-control reports, the U.S. attorney’s office said Thursday.
West Coast Aluminum Heat Treating Co. was hired by aerospace manufacturers and suppliers to toughen aluminum parts by exposing them to extremely high temperatures in furnaces at its plant in La Mirada.
The 900-degree heat treatment, which can take eight to 36 hours, alters the properties of the metal, making it stronger and resistant to corrosion, cracking and fatigue.
But according to the 10-count indictment, West Coast Aluminum treated aluminum for a much shorter period of time than required, allowing the company to increase business volume and revenue at the expense of product safety.
The suspect aluminum was processed for use in Boeing’s 737, 747, 757, DC-8, DC-9, DC-10, MD-11, MD-80 and MD-90 airplanes; Bell commercial helicopter models 22B, 22U, 230, 430 and 412; and NASA’s Space Station.
Also, the Navy’s Phalanx close-in air-and-missile defense system and F/A-18 and P-3 aircraft; the Marine Corps’ AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter; the Army’s Kiowa Warrior and Apache attack helicopters; the Air Force’s Titan IV missile, its C-9, C-17, KC-10, F-15, F-16, F-22 and AWACS aircraft, and the UH-1 Huey and V-22 helicopters.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Julien A. Adams, who is prosecuting the case, said Thursday that all aerospace manufacturers that contracted with West Coast Aluminum have been notified about the alleged defects.
“To date, we have not received any word of system failures or the like,” Adams said, but he added that the manufacturers are still checking aircraft and missile systems.
The investigation was sparked by a former plant foreman at West Coast Aluminum who contacted Boeing and the Defense Department’s Criminal Investigative Service about a year ago, saying he was fired for complaining that the aluminum was being rushed through the hardening process.
At the height of its activities, West Coast Aluminum operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week with about 40 employees, according to investigative sources.
They said the alleged fraud apparently had been going on for several years and affected the majority of parts processed at the plant.
In addition to West Coast Aluminum, the grand jury indicted the company’s president, June Fitch, 60, and her son, Eugene Fitch Jr., 32, who served as vice president and general manager. Eugene Fitch was responsible for running day-to-day operations at the plant. He directed the foremen and other workers to shorten the heat treatment process and to skip or alter quality-control tests on the finished metal products, according to the indictment.
The Fitches sold off the company’s assets earlier this year. They are scheduled to appear for arraignment in Los Angeles federal court June 8, each on 10 counts of conspiracy and filing false statements to the Defense Department. They and their attorney could not be reached for comment Thursday.
