Free Republic

Democrats for Boeing The truth about the tanker deal. by Christian Lowe 03/24/2008, Volume 013, Issue 27 It was one of those insider deals that give the defense industry a bad name, conjuring up images of smoke-filled negotiations between the brass and corporate fat cats in plush leather chairs. By the time it was over, two fat cats were in jail, a top Pentagon official had been forced to resign, a corporate CEO had lost his job, and the reputation of an iconic company that had served American troops for decades had suffered irreparable damage. Then it turned out it...

Defense Daily May 11, 2005 Pg. 4 Defense Science Board Finds No Barrier To New Druyun Scandal By Sharon Weinberger A senior defense advisory body has concluded there are still no safeguards in the Pentagon’s acquisition system to prevent problems similar to those brought on by Darleen Druyun, the former Air Force weapons buyer currently serving time in prison for violating federal conflict of interest laws. After Druyun admitted last year to breaking federal procurement regulations, Michael Wynne, the acting undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, asked the DSB to review the Pentagon’s management structures. The final report...

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...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A former Pentagon (news - web sites) official hired by Boeing after working on a controversial deal to lease tanker planes to the Air Force pleaded guilty to a criminal conspiracy charge, officials said. Darleen Druyun, 56, could be sentenced to as much as five years in prison under the charge of "conspiracy to commit acts affecting a personal financial interest by negotiating employment," according to a Justice Department statement. The deal to plead guilty to a single criminal information came amid an investigation that could have led to an indictment on additional charges. Druyun, who was...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - A former top U.S. Air Force official wept when she pleaded guilty to conspiracy on Tuesday for discussing a job with Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA - News) while still overseeing its business dealings with the Air Force. ADVERTISEMENT Darleen Druyun, 56, who retired as the No. 2 Air Force acquisition official in November 2002 and took a job with Boeing two months later, agreed to cooperate with prosecutors who are still investigating Michael Sears, the former Boeing chief financial officer who hired her. "I deeply regret my actions," an emotional Druyun told Judge T.S. Ellis III in...