Bid Rigging In ATC Training Charged In Lawsuit Against Raytheon

Raytheon Technical Services, the subsidiary of the company which trains air traffic controllers, will be required to defend itself against a $1 billion dollar lawsuit brought by Washington Consulting Group (WCG) in a D.C. Court.

The plaintiff company holds that it lost a contract to train air traffic controllers because of bid-rigging on the part of Raytheon and the FAA, and that the process sacrificed air safety for profit.

A report in The Hill indicates that WCG is seeking $1 billion in damages against allegations that Raytheon Employee Charles Keegan entered into a conspiracy with the FAA to get a 10-year contract for air traffic controller training. Keegan had been an FAA employee during the bidding process, and allegedly had a romantic involvement with another senior FAA employee, whom he later married. The suit charges the two conspired to be sure WGC would not be able to get the contract as a subcontractor for Lockheed Martin. Keegan now is Raytheon's manager for the contract.

The Hill reports that Raytheon holds through its attorneys that the charges are baseless, and that WGC did not properly follow the FAA's Dispute Resolution System. They sought to have the case dismissed or moved to federal court, but a U.S. District Judge ruled Thursday that they would be going forward in the local D.C. court.

FMI: www.dccourts.gov