Ex-FAA officer pleads guilty
12-15-2007, 05:13 PM
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Ex-FAA officer pleads guilty
We in the legal community of Washington State can always count on Judge Pechman to tell it like it is. 200 hours of community service is too little, I think.
From The Seattle Times:
A former Federal Aviation Administration contract official has received probation and has been ordered to perform community service for his role in improperly steering a $4.2 million contract for runway lighting at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Robert Ferrell, 48, of Renton, was a contracting officer for the FAA. According to prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to procurement fraud for providing confidential information to PCL Construction Services, enabling PCL to underbid competitors for the installation of high-intensity lighting along the new third runway at the airport.
There was no evidence that Ferrell took money, but prosecutors uncovered evidence that the contractor treated a number of FAA employees, including Ferrell, to golf games and meals.
U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman said it appears "the whole agency [has] run afoul of what their duty is as a government agency" and said she was "appalled" that a number of FAA employees had written letters to the court on Ferrell's behalf.
"FAA employees shouldn't be taking a cup of coffee from anybody who is bidding on these contracts," the judge said. "I am sad to see that there are still people in the office that think there was nothing wrong."
Ferrell was ordered to complete 200 hours of community service and serve three years on probation. A co-conspirator, Vicki Lynn Olson, 51, of Kent, received the same sentence earlier this week.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Blackstone said a transcript of the judge's remarks will be sent to the regional administrator of the FAA to "put them on notice."
Ferrell admitted that he provided to PCL the amount a competitor had bid for the lighting installation and let it revise its bid so it would win.
PCL paid a $1 million fine to the government and $750,000 in restitution to the competitor, Donald B. Murphy Contractors.
From The Seattle Times:
A former Federal Aviation Administration contract official has received probation and has been ordered to perform community service for his role in improperly steering a $4.2 million contract for runway lighting at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Robert Ferrell, 48, of Renton, was a contracting officer for the FAA. According to prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to procurement fraud for providing confidential information to PCL Construction Services, enabling PCL to underbid competitors for the installation of high-intensity lighting along the new third runway at the airport.
There was no evidence that Ferrell took money, but prosecutors uncovered evidence that the contractor treated a number of FAA employees, including Ferrell, to golf games and meals.
U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman said it appears "the whole agency [has] run afoul of what their duty is as a government agency" and said she was "appalled" that a number of FAA employees had written letters to the court on Ferrell's behalf.
"FAA employees shouldn't be taking a cup of coffee from anybody who is bidding on these contracts," the judge said. "I am sad to see that there are still people in the office that think there was nothing wrong."
Ferrell was ordered to complete 200 hours of community service and serve three years on probation. A co-conspirator, Vicki Lynn Olson, 51, of Kent, received the same sentence earlier this week.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Blackstone said a transcript of the judge's remarks will be sent to the regional administrator of the FAA to "put them on notice."
Ferrell admitted that he provided to PCL the amount a competitor had bid for the lighting installation and let it revise its bid so it would win.
PCL paid a $1 million fine to the government and $750,000 in restitution to the competitor, Donald B. Murphy Contractors.
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