Darleen A. Druyun, a former top Air Force official who later joined, and was fired, from Boeing, is meeting with federal prosecutors to tell them all she knows about possible misconduct at the company, the nation's second-largest military contractor behind Lockheed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/16/business/16boeing.html
Once one of the toughest negotiators at the Pentagon, with a reputation so fierce she was nicknamed the Dragon Lady, Ms. Druyun had held sway for years over billions of dollars in contracts for fighter jets, cargo planes and other hardware. But after leaving the Air Force in 2002 to work at Boeing, she was found to have illegally negotiated her Boeing job contract while still working at the Pentagon.
Now, disgraced and facing up to five years in jail, Ms. Druyun is cooperating with a number of investigations in order to win a reduced sentence. Already, one former Boeing executive, Michael M. Sears, once its chief financial officer, has been identified in court as having conspired with Ms. Druyun in her job negotiations, and many are wondering how much further Ms. Druyun's finger pointing will go.
Cai von Rumohr, an analyst with SG Cowen Securities, said, "I don't think we are at the level of Boeingate yet." He warned, "It could become an issue if Congress makes it an issue."
In April, United States District Court Judge T. S. Ellis III told a tearful Ms. Druyun, as she entered her guilty plea, that she was obliging herself "to disclose any criminal activity," not just matters pertaining to her job negotiations.
"Boeing has made remarkable inroads into gaining Pentagon contracts," said Loren Thompson, a military analyst at the Lexington Institute, a nonprofit research group. "The notion that these successes were due in part to unethical behavior tends to undercut them and make investors wonder."
Thursday, June 17, 2004
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