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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jun/28/man-gets-2-years-selling-defective-parts-military/
FEDERAL COURT — A former employee of a Vista aviation business was sentenced in San Diego federal court Monday to two years in prison for intentionally selling fraudulent aircraft parts to the Navy and Marines, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
One of the parts he sold to the military, a bolt that attaches tail rotor blades onto helicopters, was later found defective and prompted a recall effort on bases and war zones around the world.
Joel H. Potter, 57, pleaded guilty to selling at least 16,000 noncompliant aircraft parts on 80 occasions while working at Vista-based MacKenzie Aircraft Parts from 2004 to 2008, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Potter was responsible for selling the various parts to the SAIC, a major contractor for the Defense Department.
While the parts were supposed to come from specified and approved manufacturers, and were required to be new, Potter instead supplied parts from nonapproved companies or sold surplus parts, federal officials said.
The scam unraveled when one of the 408 bolts used on the Sikorsky CH-53E helicopters broke off while being installed on a chopper.
An alert was sent worldwide to check for similar defects; the 8-inch bolts were found on four other helicopters.
Besides having to serve two years in prison, Potter was also sentenced to 24 months of supervised release and must pay $244,660 in restitution to the military.
MacKenzie, in business since 1979, specializes in surplus and hard-to-find aircraft parts, according to its website.
FEDERAL COURT — A former employee of a Vista aviation business was sentenced in San Diego federal court Monday to two years in prison for intentionally selling fraudulent aircraft parts to the Navy and Marines, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
One of the parts he sold to the military, a bolt that attaches tail rotor blades onto helicopters, was later found defective and prompted a recall effort on bases and war zones around the world.
Joel H. Potter, 57, pleaded guilty to selling at least 16,000 noncompliant aircraft parts on 80 occasions while working at Vista-based MacKenzie Aircraft Parts from 2004 to 2008, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Potter was responsible for selling the various parts to the SAIC, a major contractor for the Defense Department.
While the parts were supposed to come from specified and approved manufacturers, and were required to be new, Potter instead supplied parts from nonapproved companies or sold surplus parts, federal officials said.
The scam unraveled when one of the 408 bolts used on the Sikorsky CH-53E helicopters broke off while being installed on a chopper.
An alert was sent worldwide to check for similar defects; the 8-inch bolts were found on four other helicopters.
Besides having to serve two years in prison, Potter was also sentenced to 24 months of supervised release and must pay $244,660 in restitution to the military.
MacKenzie, in business since 1979, specializes in surplus and hard-to-find aircraft parts, according to its website.
