This is really LOW!!!

[ClutterbusterNY]

I'd love to be on the jury for this one!

05/19/06 - Posted from the Daily Record newsroom
Feds say contractor put troops in danger

2 Randolph men chargedin fraud over tank parts
BY ABBOTT KOLOFF
DAILY RECORD
Two Randolph men have been charged with conspiring to provide deficient filters that were supposed to protect American military personnel from chemical, biological and radiological weapons, according to a federal indictment unsealed on Thursday.
John Parkinson, 84, and David D. Sward, 61, were among four officials with Parmatic Filter Corp., a Sussex County-based military contractor, who have been indicted by a federal grand jury as part of an alleged conspiracy to supply the military with filters that had been tested improperly and manufactured incorrectly. Parkinson is president of the company, which was based in Denville and now is in Sandyston.
Government officials say the filters mostly were used in tanks and had been manufactured and shipped to the military between 1997 and 2002. They said the filters all have been removed but were unable to say whether any were used during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
"This was a fraud with potentially grave consequences for military personnel," U.S. Attorney Chris Christie said in a prepared statement. "The allegations suggest that the defendants acted to cut corners and commit fraud to increase profits while potentially putting servicemen and women at risk on the battlefield."
Parmatic had two contracts worth a total of $6 million to produce more than 11,000 filters, according to court papers. Brett J. Halpin, 62, of Ocean City and William I. Schwartz, 42, of West Milford were the other company officials indicted.
The four men will make a first appearance in federal court in Newark today before U.S. District Judge Mark Falk. A grand jury returned a 13-count indictment on Wednesday but it remained sealed until Thursday.
All four men were charged with major fraud against the United States, among other charges. That charge is the most serious and carries a maximum of 10 years in prison and $1 million in fines. Other charges against them include conspiracy, making false statements and concealing facts from the Department of Defense.
William Maderer, a Newark attorney who represents Parkinson and Parmatic, said company officials were notified on Thursday that charges had been filed. He said he had not had time to read the indictment.
"I can't give any comment until I read the indictment," he said.
Parkinson was unavailable for comment, a woman who answered a phone at the company's office said, and Sward did not return a message left on his answering machine.
Authorities also said that an unnamed government inspector at Picatinny Arsenal conspired with Parmatic officials to send deficient filters to another unnamed country, to be used by that country's navy. The inspector allegedly certified the filters as a U.S. government official, but did not have the authority to make those certifications.
The inspector, identified as L.E.N. in court papers, was not charged, nor was another company official who authorities say was part of the scheme to commit fraud against the U.S. government.
Michael Drewniak, a spokesman with the U.S. Attorney's Office, would not say whether anyone else faces charges. He said he was unsure when the investigation began and could not say when the allegedly deficient filters were removed from tanks.
A Department of Defense official said the investigation began before the Iraq war but was unsure when the filters were pulled.
"The investigation has been going on for several years, and it's still going on," said James Murawski of Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
DOD officials in Washington, D.C., were unavailable for comment by the time details of the allegations were made public on Thursday.
The government charges in a 37-page indictment that Parmatic was supposed to select some filters at random to be tested by the government, but instead specially manufactured the filters it wanted used for those tests. It charged that the company purchased castings for filters that were too big and did not conform to contract specifications -- and covered up defects by machining the castings, which caused more problems by removing a protective coating that inhibited corrosion.
Government officials also said in court papers that when Parmatic tested filters itself, it used equipment that was not properly calibrated. The company allegedly sent filters from batches that failed tests, in violation of the contract, and remanufactured filters from failed batches without permission from the Department of Defense.
Company officials also allegedly lied about expenses to get more money from the government.
Abbott Koloff can be reached at (973) 989-0652 or akoloff@gannett.com.

http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs...TIES/605190351