Defense Contractor Is Accused of Illegal Political Donations

The owner of a defense firm working on an advanced guided-missile program was indicted Tuesday on 40 felony counts for allegedly funneling more than $75,000 in illegal contributions to the campaigns of four congressmen and a U.S. senator involved in awarding military contracts.

Parthasarathi Majumder, owner of Science and Applied Technology Inc. of San Diego, allegedly arranged for employees and others to make the contributions and then reimbursed them, in violation of federal election law.

Also, Majumder is accused of submitting phony bills to the Navy to recoup the cost of contributions to Reps. Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon), Randall Cunningham (R-Escondido), John Murtha (R-Pennsylvania) and Joe Scarborough (R-Florida), and U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).

The elected officials are not suspected of any wrongdoing, according to prosecutors. The indictment also charges that Majumder pressured employees to lie to investigators about their contributions.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Phillip Halpern said the case is meant to enforce laws involving contribution limits and disclosures and also ensure that the process of awarding government contracts is free of favoritism.

Majumder allegedly arranged the contributions in hopes of influencing the officials to help him receive funding for research and development of an improved anti-radiation guided missile that would allow U.S. warplanes to track and destroy enemy radar, even when it has been shut down and is not emitting signals.

Since 1990, the firm, which has its headquarters here and its production plant in Woodland Hills, has received $150 million from the Department of Defense, according to an indictment handed down by a federal grand jury.

The missile has not yet been approved for mass production, and Majumder, in a lawsuit filed last week against federal prosecutors, accuses the government of trying to scuttle his invention before it can be marketed.

The 40 counts filed against Majumder carry a combined maximum of 98 years in prison.

Robert Cohan, Majumder’s attorney, said that any violations of campaign law were minimal and that he is astonished that the U.S. attorney’s office would jeopardize a military defense program.

“If this program is in any way damaged, the citizens of this country are the ones who are going to be injured,” Cohan said. “Why these prosecutors have sought to put a notch on their gun like this is beyond me.”

As part of the investigation, federal officials allegedly found that Majumder falsified his resume and that he does not have a bachelor’s degree in physics from Cambridge University and a doctorate from the University of Maryland.

Majumder, 50, of Poway pleaded innocent in federal court Tuesday and posted $100,000 bail. The indictment was unsealed after plea bargain talks collapsed.

Majumder told employees that “the company’s existence depended on his ability to raise federal campaign contributions,” according to the indictment.

Election law prohibits individual contributions of more than $1,000 and the use of “straw” donors who are reimbursed. Inducing others to make contributions and then paying them back is considered campaign money laundering.

The system being developed by Majumder’s company would allow fighter aircraft to destroy ground-to-air missile sites.