European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 10, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Daily Magazine this is not just a few bad apples How to Salute a defense contractor new York times Ven before the current Federal investigation into bribery and fraud in military contracting came to Light there was plenty of evidence to suggest wide abuses of the system. At any Given time More than half of the Pentagon s top 100 weapons suppliers Are under investigation for procurement fraud. The present inquiry is unusual because it involves relatively senior military officials who were subjected to tapped phones and search warrants inside the Pentagon. According to court papers some government officials May have been paid to reveal inside information such As the details of a competitor s bid on an aircraft contract. Investigators still sifting through the evidence Are talking about dozens of indictments probably by the end of the year. The inquiry has revived accusations that the Pentagon ignored the scandals of past years such As the Lockheed and general dynamics cases and continued to turn a Blind Eye toward wrongdoing. Or at the very least it is argued ant corruption efforts must have been mismanaged if they failed to Root out a Complex network of malfeasance. Dan Howard a Pentagon spokesman responded to such suggestions with the defense department s Standard interpretation of the events. The acquisition system is sound he said. But there is no system on the face of this Earth that completely obviates the human Factor greed. And that is Why we have policing  the Pentagon police have clearly been working harder. In the year ending March 31, investigations by the inspector general of the department of defense resulted in 5,434 convictions and 4,245 new indictments according to reports filed by the Agency. During the previous year there had been 1,017 convictions and 790 new indictments. Not All these cases involved procurement fraud but Many did suspensions and debarment of contractors have grown tenfold since 1981 and now run at about 900 a year. And when Henry Hudson the United states attorney handling the latest inquiry into contract abuses briefed members of Congress about he rattled off another round of statistics 275 subpoenas around the country dozens of search warrants hour after hour of wiretapped conversations All leading to suspicion that perhaps 75 contracts involving Many billions of dollars were tainted. This is not just a couple of people this is not just a few bad apples said sen. Carl m. Levin a Michigan Democrat who is a member of the armed services committee and chairman of the governmental affairs subcommittee on investigations. This Are Many dozens of bad apples in the  others in Congress were Quick to accuse the Law enforcement agencies of laxity. Our Justice department has been asleep at the switch when it comes to investigating procurement fraud said sen. Charles a. Grassley an Iowa Republican. He and rep. John d. Dingell a Michigan Democrat said they provided evidence of similar abuses to the defense and Justice departments years ago. June Gibbs Brown the Pentagon inspector general responded that the current investigation is a perfect example of How the system is working because when that information comes in that information is combined from the various investigative entities and aggressive action is  the inquiry began about two years ago after an Industry official reported to the Pentagon that he had been approached by a consultant peddling inside information. The naval investigative service used this sunday july 10, 1988 tip to trap the consultant and then used him As an informant on Pentagon insiders. When the probe broadened to include people outside the Pentagon the Justice department was put on the Case and its wiretaps resulted in the recent searches and subpoenas. Besides the information dealing that was initially said to be the focus of the inquiry investigators have spoken of other potential abuses suppliers collusion on bidding and manipulation of contracts. In the weapons Industry executives asserted that their companies were enforcing rigorous standards of conduct. But both the executives and Pentagon officials conceded that Industry self governance a Central recommendation of the Packard commission in 1986, was Likely to be eroded by new regulation As a result of the inquiry. In Philadelphia an investigation of corruption at the defense personnel support Center a government purchasing office has resulted in the indictment of 28 individuals and companies on various fraud charges. The inquiry centers on companies in the textile and apparel Industry that sold a wide Range of garments and equipment uniforms tents boots to the armed forces. Thirteen sentences including 11 prison terms have been handed Down. Los Angeles is at the Center of another far Flung defense contracting investigation which has resulted in More that 50 convictions. The Pentagon the Federal Bureau of investigation the internal Revenue service and the National aeronautics and space administration All were involved in the inquiry. Congress responded to the reports of wrongdoing by toughening statutes against kickbacks and United states attorneys in other parts of the country Are said to be training agents and lawyers for similar crackdowns. In other words while the Pentagon bribery Case May be the biggest to come along in a while it is unlikely to be the last. The stars and stripes Page 13