Norden Systems Inc

Thomas E. Muldoon, a key figure in the Pentagon defense procurement probe, admitted in a published report that he paid other consultants for information but insisted the practices being investigated by the FBI have been going on for 20 years. In a copyright story in Connecticut's the Hartford Courant, Muldoon said information he sought for clients was often readily available from government officials, and the companies did not ask where it came from.

A former executive of a United Technologies Corp. division pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to illegally obtain inside information about a Pentagon competition for a lucrative Navy contract. Roger K. Engel, 49, a former vice president of the company's Norden Systems division in Norwalk, Conn., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government.

Norden Systems Inc., a leading candidate for a $120-million contract to build an air command and control system for the Marine Corps, has withdrawn from the competition amid allegations that a consultant for the company improperly obtained information about a competitor's bids, The Times has learned. Norden's withdrawal from the competition for the Advanced Tactical Air Command Control is the first known commercial fallout from the widespread Pentagon weapons buying scandal.

Federal investigators, relying heavily on an elaborate network of electronic surveillance, said they were able to track step-by-step the activities of private defense consultants as they bought and sold secret information on defense contracts, according to court documents made public Thursday.

The Pentagon is suspending payments on nine Navy contracts worth more than $1.2 billion because they may have been tainted by bribes paid to a Navy official in exchange for inside information, Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci said Friday. Carlucci, in an unambiguous message to the defense industry that contract corruption will not be tolerated, also said the Pentagon would review all contracts with four major defense contractors--Litton Industries Inc. of Beverly Hills, Hazeltine Corp.

A former executive of a United Technologies Corp. division pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to illegally obtain inside information about a Pentagon competition for a lucrative Navy contract. Roger K. Engel, 49, a former vice president of the company's Norden Systems division in Norwalk, Conn., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government.

Former defense consultant Mark Saunders was sentenced to 21 months in prison and fined $5,000 Friday for his role in funneling military procurement data to a defense contractor. Saunders was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Albert V. Bryan Jr. for his role in the Pentagon procurement scandal that is the subject of a long-running Justice Department investigation dubbed Operation Ill Wind.

Thomas E. Muldoon, a key figure in the Pentagon defense procurement probe, admitted in a published report that he paid other consultants for information but insisted the practices being investigated by the FBI have been going on for 20 years. In a copyright story in Connecticut's the Hartford Courant, Muldoon said information he sought for clients was often readily available from government officials, and the companies did not ask where it came from.

The Pentagon is suspending payments on nine Navy contracts worth more than $1.2 billion because they may have been tainted by bribes paid to a Navy official in exchange for inside information, Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci said Friday. Carlucci, in an unambiguous message to the defense industry that contract corruption will not be tolerated, also said the Pentagon would review all contracts with four major defense contractors--Litton Industries Inc. of Beverly Hills, Hazeltine Corp.

Norden Systems Inc., a leading candidate for a $120-million contract to build an air command and control system for the Marine Corps, has withdrawn from the competition amid allegations that a consultant for the company improperly obtained information about a competitor's bids, The Times has learned. Norden's withdrawal from the competition for the Advanced Tactical Air Command Control is the first known commercial fallout from the widespread Pentagon weapons buying scandal.

Federal investigators, relying heavily on an elaborate network of electronic surveillance, said they were able to track step-by-step the activities of private defense consultants as they bought and sold secret information on defense contracts, according to court documents made public Thursday.

United Technologies Corp. pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy Friday in connection with the "Ill Wind" Pentagon contracting scandal and agreed to pay $6 million in fines and penalties. The felony charges involved obtaining sensitive and confidential bid information on a radar control system for the Marine Corps and price data on engines for the Navy's F-404 jet. The information gave United Technologies unfair advantages in seeking military contracts.

Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci announced today that the Pentagon has suspended all payments on nine Navy contracts worth $1 billion that may have been tainted by bribes and fraud. The suspensions will not damage national security, he said. He said the Pentagon is immediately stopping payments to four major defense firms, Hazeltine Inc., Emhart Corp., Norden Systems Inc. and Litton Industries of Beverly Hills.