Aerospace Company, 3 Managers Are Indicted

Hydroform USA Inc., a Carson-based aerospace company, its subsidiary and three managers were indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles on charges of cheating on performance requirements for parts used in more than 60 military, space and commercial aircraft programs.

Named in a 34-count indictment were Hydroform, its Temperform USA subsidiary in La Mirada and managers Mario Curiel, 31, of Compton; Gabriel Camacho, 26, of El Monte; and Eutiquio Sauceda, 39, of Downey.

Fred Friedman, an attorney for Hydroform, said Thursday that the company did not knowingly violate any laws and would contest the charges vigorously. Lawyers for Sauceda and Camacho said they had not seen the indictment; Curiel’s lawyer could not be reached.

Hydroform sells components for aircraft wings, landing gear and fuselages to major aerospace companies and Temperform operates furnaces whose parts are strengthened by exposure over long periods to 900-degree temperatures.

Prosecutors alleged that parts were heated for less time than required, that records were manipulated to hide furnace defects and that parts were only selectively sampled for quality when a contract called for all parts to be tested. Hydroform also was accused of shipping parts to Temperform for testing even though the subsidiary was not authorized to do the work.

Although no aircraft mishaps have been traced to the alleged cheating, the Defense Department last year issued a safety alert to all companies and agencies that received suspect parts manufactured and treated by the two companies.