P.M. BRIEFING : Sale of Flawed Nuts, Bolts Charged
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FT. WORTH — A Texas company and a Japanese manufacturer sold hundreds of thousands of substandard nuts and bolts to the Pentagon and the Comanche Peak nuclear plant, the Justice Department charged today.
The indictment names Yamaguchi-Seisakusho Co. of Shizuoka, Japan, and Aircom Fasteners Inc. of Arlington.
The nuts and bolts were used in a variety of items, including tractor-trailers and other military vehicles and nuclear plants. But authorities today said they don’t know exactly where all the fasteners ended up.
The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram reported today that the bolts, which were of an inferior composition but labeled as if they were made of higher-quality material, have been blamed for at least two accidents, in which no one was hurt.
“It’s like if someone orders a Cadillac and you slap a Cadillac emblem on a Chevrolet and sell it as a Cadillac,” said Jim Slick, agent in charge of the defense criminal investigative service in the Inspector General’s Ft. Worth office.
U.S. Atty. Marvin Collins said he expects six Aircom employees to surrender today.
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