The State - News from June 20, 1986

The chairman of the Georgia firm that has printed nearly 2 billion California lottery tickets criticized the Lottery Commission for voting to fire his firm without hearing his side of the story. Gilbert Bachman, chairman of Dittler Bros. Inc., said the commission acted on incomplete information provided by a Dittler rival, did not consult Dittler for its version and did not list the item on its public agenda. Last week the commission voted that scratch-off ticket games contractor Scientific Games Inc. of Georgia should find another way to print tickets after Scientific Games informed lottery officials that an arbitrator had found Dittler, its printing subcontractor, guilty of fraud. Bachman said his firm is contesting the arbitrator’s ruling that Dittler fraudulently overcharged Scientific Games by about $1 million. He added that the arbitrator also found that Scientific Games had underpaid Dittler about $6 million.