Litton Settles Navy Jet Case: Litton Systems...

Litton Settles Navy Jet Case: Litton Systems Inc., a unit of Beverly Hills-based Litton Industries, paid the government $2.4 million to avoid a trial on charges of defense contracting fraud, the Justice Department reported. Litton was awarded six Navy contracts in 1983 and 1984 for systems that supply oxygen to crewmen aboard aircraft carrier-based aircraft. During a 1987 audit, “questions about the pricing of the six contracts were raised,” the Justice Department said. The Defense Contract Audit Agency found handwritten memos from an employee “indicating that, upon directions from a superior, he had increased labor costs,” the Justice Department said. The six Navy contracts were awarded to Litton System’s Clifton Precision Instruments and Life Support division in Davenport, Iowa.