European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 20, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Of Friday july 20, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 7 Era Foi Washington a the Justice department could not pursue a fraud claim against the manufacture if to be bomber because the air Force knew Northrop corp. Submitted false data according to a document released wednesday. A while certain of the allegations concerning pro. M deficiencies Are essentially accurate the air orce has known of these facts for some time but has chosen to take no remedial action a the Justice department said in the september 1988 memo portions of which were disclosed by rep. John Dingell a Mich. A accordingly there is no provable fraud because there is no detrimental Reliance on false representations a the memo said Dingell in a letter to defense Secretary Dick Cheney disclosed the contents of the Justice department memorandum that found that Northrop submitted false Cost and scheduling data to the air Force on the b-2 program. A it is Clear that in the air forces Zeal to protect the data in b-2 program funding for the b-2 program they have ignored or tolerated major infractions by Northrop to the detriment of the taxpayers a Dingell said in the five Page letter to Cheney. Officials of the air Force defense department and Northrop corp. Said they were aware of Dingell a letter but had no immediate comment. The government has invested More than $25 billion to build the radar evading aircraft. Scrutiny of aircraft production however has been limited because the program was classified until last year. The Justice department said in the memo that the defense contract audit Agency had Only two auditors assigned to Northrop to oversee the operation. During that time the company a Cost schedule control system which measures potential Cost overruns and schedule delays produced false information. A a Northrop a Cost schedule control system is essentially a farce a the memo said. Dingell chairman of the House Energy and com Merce subcommittee on oversight and investigations asked Cheney to assemble an Independent a court of inquiry Quot that would report to Congress by aug. 24. Faced with a diminished soviet threat and an increasing budget deficit Cheney in april Cut the production number of the Bat winged aircraft from 132 to 75. But congressional opposition to the plane remains with lawmakers highly critical of the Cost of $860 million per plane. The Senate armed services committee approving a $289 billion defense Bill last week agreed to Cheney a request for two planes in the fiscal year beginning oct. 1 at a Cost of nearly $5 billion for the aircraft and other  a a a. A a a a a. A a amendments to kill the program Are expected when the full Senate takes up the Bill. The House armed services committee begins crafting its version of the defense Bill later this month and attempts to terminate the b-2 program in the full House remain Strong. Los Angeles police solve mystery cover up by the los Angeles times los Angeles a police have apparently slammed the lid on the great manhole cover caper. Nine Days after the cast Iron disks began disappearing at a dizzying rate from Hollywood to South Central los Angeles police on a stakeout at a downtown los Angeles scrap Metal Yard pulled aside a beat up pickup truck. Inside they found what they were looking for More than a ton of catch Basin covers and storm Drain grates covered by cardboard and broken bed frames. In total the police departments four detective scrap detail recovered More than 300 covers and grates from the truck and the Salvage Yard wednesday. Police said two suspects who May be part of a larger theft ring were about to sell the hefty Load for a Mere $75 to the downtown Metal Center in los Angeles when they were apprehended. A its mind boggling a said 21-year detective Bob Readhimer head of the scrap Metal detail. A this one ranks right up there with the Best of  arrested on charges of receiving stolen property were Antonio Lopez 23, and Efrain de Leon Barrios 19, both of whom told police that they were mexican nationals who recently arrived in los Angeles. A Lopez said he can to get any Money because he can to get any jobs because he does no to have papers and he has to eat a said detective Billy Heinlein who interviewed the suspects through an interpreter. A Barrios said he was at a Day labor place. Got picked up by Lopez. And was hoping to get $20 for the  a they were hard workers Quot Heinlein said. A you can to say they were Lazy a just not too honest. With the recovery of the covers and the arrests police put the Kibosh on a a track loaded with stolen manhole covers sits in a los Angeles Salvage Yard. Series of far less poignant theories about Why anyone would go to the trouble of lifting 185 of the City a catch Basin covers a which weigh about 40 pounds each. Scrap dealers noting that the Metal was Worth Only 3 cents a Pound had hypothesized that it was Likely the work of a crazed backyard decorator or a sociopathic Kook alternately dubbed the catch Basin Bandit and manhole Man. The pilfer ers could make 30 times As much legally by recycling aluminium soft drink cans scrap dealers said. The most far out theory was that the thefts were the work of obsessed fans of the teenage mutant ninja turtles cartoon characters who use manhole covers for Shields. Decides tie on Coin Chicago apr on the flip of a Coin paralegal Rosemary Mulligan was declared the Winner wednesday in her bid to unseat anti abortionist Penny Pullen for the Republican nomination in a suburban state House District. Pullens attorney said he will Appeal a court ruling that led to the Coin toss. The ruling said the candidates had received an equal number of votes in the March 20 primary. A i done to think the Coin toss is a Biggie a Pullen said. A it just determines who a going to take the Appeal to  mulligans attorney had said she would Appeal if she had lost the flip. The primary contest gave voters a Clear Choice on abortion. Pullen a Leader of anti abortion forces in the general Assembly has represented the wealthy Northwest suburban District for seven terms. Mulligan who supports abortion rights said polls of voters in the District indicate 70 percent support her stand on the Issue. A i think this reflects what s going to happen across the country eventually Quot she said after the Silver Dollar came up tails to give her Victory. Michael Lavelle Pullens attorney said he would go before the Illinois supreme court on thursday to ask the justices to take the Appeal directly. Circuit judge Francis Barth had ruled the race a tie on monday giving Pullen tend Mulligan 7,387 votes each. The postelection count gave Mulligan the Victory 7,431 to 7,400. Both candidates claim Barth was mistaken in his ruling on which contested ballots should be counted. A i feel we won on election night by 31 votes a Mulligan said adding that she is confident of ultimate Victor in court and in the november election against Democrat Robert r.  expects soviets to keep nuclear capacity Washington apr defense Secretary Dick Cheney said wednesday that the soviet Union has a begun the process of reducing the size of its military a but predicted Moscow would hold fast to its nuclear weapons capability even in the face of economic crisis. A a that a what makes them a superpower and they wont give it up Quot he told a group of journalists at a luncheon at the american Enterprise Institute. Cheney was asked if the United states was a still no. 1&Quot in the world. A we Are no. 1. We re now enjoying the fruits of years of Effort Quot he said. A there is Only one True superpower left in the world. I would argue its the United  soviet military retrenchment is one of several conditions demanded by president Bush before the United states will consider sending direct Aid to help Moscow a ravaged Economy. Cheney said the United states accepts the estimate that 25 percent of the soviet Economy has been spent on the military. He said the soviet Economy is so weak that High rates of military spending Are Quot no longer  the United states Cheney said already has noted reductions in soviet military spending for tank production and general procurement. He said the soviets were a scrapping old naval units and parking old military  Cheney said Europe would be Quot relatively free of soviet troops Quot by 1995. That he said will a radically alter our own Force deployment in Europe Quot which is to say it would decline. Soviet president Mikhail s. Gorbachev a decision to drop his opposition to a unified Germany in nato a removed the last Roadblock Quot to getting two arms agreements Cheney said. Gorbachev and Bush have pledged to conclude a conventional forces agreement and a  strategic arms treaty. Cheney noted that the soviets Are on a timetable to pull troops out of Hungary and Czechoslovakia by the end of 1991 and agreed earlier this week to abandon its positions in East Germany by 1994. That would leave soviet troops Only in Poland and Cheney said he assumed there also would be a pullout agreement covering Poland