Oregon defense contractor who bribed official avoids prison
PORTLAND — An Oregon defense contractor who bribed a government official to secure more than $170 million in contracts was sentenced Friday to a year on probation and fined $5,000.
The 75-year-old contractor, who goes by Sky after changing his name from William Hovelman, sat quietly in a wheelchair at the federal courthouse in downtown Portland. Defense attorney Michael Levine said Sky suffered a massive stroke about a week after pleading guilty to conspiracy in April 2016, and has difficulty speaking.
“My client has unfortunately capped off a very long and illustrious career with a felony conviction,” Levine said. “For some folks, like my client, a felony conviction is a terrible, terrible stigma and punishment.”
Sky’s Ashland-based firm, Sky Research Inc., specializes in aerial surveys of old military bombing and gunnery ranges to find weapons debris. Court documents say a program manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Nebraska rigged bids on nine contracts between 2002 and 2012. In exchange, Sky provided him with cash and other perks.
Read more: http://www.registerguard.com/news/20180511/oregon-defense-contractor-who-bribed-official-avoids-prison