Federal investigators have nabbed the highest-ranking Pentagon official to be implicated in a corruption case since the 1980s. In doing so, they have bolstered the credibility of government surveillance and restored justice to an egregious case of deception and greed. The Pentagon also has said it will look more closely into rules governing the movement of Pentagon officials into the private sector. Some of the details surrounding the corruption case indicate such a review is merited.
Darleen A. Druyun, a former senior Air Force official, pleaded guilty last week to conspiracy. She admitted to negotiating a $250,000 executive job at Boeing Co., which included a $50,000 signing bonus, while overseeing a $23 billion deal between that company and the Pentagon. Druyun and Boeing’s chief financial officer, Michael M. Sears, were fired from the company in November. Mr. Sears says he has done nothing wrong.
Druyun’s brisk entry into Boeing in January 2003 after negotiating the Pentagon’s deal to lease up to 100 Boeing refueling planes had raised eyebrows among some public officials. The e-mail exchanges between Druyun and her Boeing contact indicate that they were both clearly aware they were engaged in wrongdoing. An e-mail following up on an October meeting between Druyun and a Boeing executive referred to the reunion as a “non-meeting.” So, lack of clarity on the rules doesn’t seem to have been a problem.
An audit by the Pentagon’s inspector general found significant problems in the deal’s procurement process. This is most unfortunate, since U.S. taxpayers ultimately pay the price for such compromised deal-making. While Boeing appears to have taken a positive first step in firing Mr. Sears, it has otherwise inspired little confidence. When asked whether other Boeing employees were aware of the talks with Druyun, Boeing spokesman Doug Kennett told The Washington Post: “We’re aware of the facts, and there are no facts that would support allegations of wrongdoing by other Boeing executives.”
Some of Druyun’s past behavior is also suspect. Druyun’s daughter is a Boeing employee and was involved in the employment negotiations on her mother’s behalf. Heather McKee was hired by Boeing after Druyun asked a Boeing executive for help in finding her daughter a job. Another contract Druyun was involved with to modernize some NATO planes grew from $551.3 million to $1.3 billion, with no independent cost estimate, according to the Pentagon’s inspector general.
The Pentagon’s review of links between public and private sector in defense procurement are welcome. Americans deserve to have their hard-earned dollars maximized by public officials, rather than squandered to benefit individual employees and companies.
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