Ethics Newsline®

WASHINGTON
A former U.S. Air Force procurement official who was fired from her subsequent position at Boeing for alleged inappropriate involvement in a military tanker lease and purchasing deal has agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of conspiracy, according to court documents filed in Virginia last week.

According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Darleen Druyun left her Pentagon post in November 2002 as the No. 2 procurement official at the Air Force. Two months later, she accepted a position as deputy general manager of Boeing’s Missile Defense Systems unit.

Druyun and former Boeing CFO Michael Sears were fired in November 2003, according to the paper, “after a Boeing investigation concluded Sears inappropriately discussed the job with Druyun while she was still working for the Air Force and involved in tanker negotiations.”

The tanker deal, valued at $23.5 billion, called for the Air Force to purchase and lease up to 100 Boeing 767s for use as air refuelers. While still at the Air Force, Druyun had informed Boeing that rival Airbus “had submitted a bid of $5 million to $17 million less per plane than the Boeing offer,” according to the Associated Press.

The Reuters news agency reports that while the deal ultimately was awarded to Boeing, it has since been put on hold pending a review by the Pentagon, an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and a continuing federal criminal investigation.

Reuters also notes that an audit undertaken by the U.S. inspector general concluded that “the deal would cost taxpayers between $2.5 billion to $4.4 billion more because the Air Force decided to procure the tankers as a commercial item, rather than following standard defense procurement rules.”

While declining to discuss the plea agreement, Boeing spokeswoman Deborah Bosick told the AP that “the company has been cooperating with authorities since we uncovered inappropriate conduct involving our hiring practices.”

Druyun, who faces up to five years in prison, is due in federal court on April 20 to enter her plea.