Mon, May 15, 2006
Company Will Avoid Criminal Charges, Admit No Wrongdoing
We didn't do anything
wrong... and you can't say we did... but we'll still pay you over
half a billion dollars to put the whole thing behind us. That,
essentially, is the agreement Boeing has reportedly reached with
the US Justice Department over past procurement violations -- and
it's a deal that will cost the aerospace manufacturer some big
bucks.
The Wall Street Journal reported on its website Monday that
Boeing will soon pay $565 million in civil claims, and another $50
million to settle criminal charges brought against the company.
Under terms of the settlement, Boeing will admit no wrongdoing, and
will avoid all criminal charges.
As Aero-News reported last
month, those charges stem from Boeing's alleged
illegal appropriation of proprietary rocket designs from Lockheed
Martin, as well as from government investigations into the
company's recruitment of US Air Force weapons buyer Darleen Druyen
while she still had an oversight role over a $23.5 million aerial
tanker competition -- that, coincidentally, went to Boeing, before
it was tossed out.
At a time when Boeing is enjoying brisk sales of its commercial
airliners -- and is struggling to win and retain key defense
contracts -- legal observers say Boeing is eager to put any of its
past missteps behind it, and now is going above and beyond to
demonstrate it is a responsible company.
Last week's move by Boeing to name J. Michael Luttig, a
respected US Appeals Court judge, as the company's chief lawyer,
couldn't hurt that image.
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