Ex-Aerospace Worker Admits Accepting Kickbacks
A former aerospace worker admitted in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles Monday that he accepted $1,970 in kickbacks on subcontracts for the B-52 bomber and two Navy jet fighters.
Kenneth Leroy Pipho, 43, of Sun Valley was one of 19 men charged in July in Operation DEFCON, a sweeping investigation by the FBI and other agencies into kickbacks within the Southern California defense industry.
Pipho’s latest admission followed his guilty pleas Aug. 4 to fraud and tax evasion while he was a senior buyer for Whittaker Controls Inc. of North Hollywood. He was terminated following his indictment, Assistant U.S. Atty. Fred D. Heather said.
The kickbacks involved work on the B-52, the F-18 and F-16 fighters and the Navy’s CH-53 helicopter.
The bribes were paid by Rex Niles, a sales representative for several defense subcontractors, who became a government witness in the Operation DEFCON probe.
U.S. District Judge Pamela Ann Rymer set sentencing on all three charges for Oct. 20.
Pipho faces a maximum 12-year prison sentence and up to $111,000 in fines.
Nine Operation DEFCON defendants have pleaded guilty. Trials are pending for the other defendants.
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