Posted on 04/11/2005 2:22:49 PM PDT by anymouse
The Pentagon's internal watchdog has begun investigating two additional contracts handled by convicted former Air Force official Darleen Druyun and could add three more deals to its growing list of possibly tainted procurements, the Pentagon said on Monday.
Druyun is serving a nine-month prison term for violating federal conflict-of-interest laws by negotiating a $250,000-a-year job with Boeing Co. while still overseeing its business with the Air Force. She also admitted steering contracts to Boeing as far back as 2000.
"In the course of our review, in an effort to be as thorough as possible, we decided to take a look at some additional contracts," said Marine Corps. Lt. Col. Rose-Ann Lynch, a Pentagon spokeswoman.
The contracts in question include the Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar (JSTARS) system, a long-range air-to-ground surveillance system for which Northrop Grumman Corp. is the prime contractor; and the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS), led by Raytheon Co.
No immediate comment was available from Northrop.
Raytheon spokesman Steve Brecken said the Waltham, Massachusetts-based company, had not received any formal notification of the audit of JPATS, which was initially awarded to Raytheon in June 1995.
"We will, of course, cooperate fully with the Pentagon IG team," he said.
Lynch said the office was currently reviewing 10 contracts for any anomalies involving Druyun, and could add three more.
She did not say how the two additional contracts were identified as needing further investigation and did not identify the other three contracts that might be reviewed.
The Pentagon in February referred eight contracts to the Defense Department's Inspector General for investigation after examining all contracts handled by Druyun during her decade as the No. 2 acquisition official at the Air Force.
The investigation of those eight original contracts is still ongoing, Lynch said.
Lynch said the Inspector General had temporarily suspended its audit of the JSTARS program because of higher priority work, and the audit of JPATS should begin this month.
The IG is also working to complete a review of how the Druyun case was handled by top Air Force and Pentagon officials, and which, if any, should be held accountable for the Pentagon's biggest procurement scandal in over a decade.
A source familiar with that review said it should be completed later this month.
Women are above reproach - especially prominent women.
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