Former Air Force Buyer Sentenced By Renae Merle and Jerry Markon Washington Post Staff Writers Friday, October 1, 2004; 1:27 PM
A former high-ranking Air Force procurement official was sentenced to nine months in federal prison today after she admitted that she had lied to federal prosecutors and that favors from Boeing Co. executives had influenced her decisions on contracts worth billions of dollars. Darleen A. Druyun, 56, initially only admitted to illegally negotiating a job with the Chicago aerospace giant while still overseeing their contracts. But in court records, Druyun said she agreed to a higher price on an Air Force deal to lease and buy refueling tankers from Boeing than she thought appropriate as a "parting gift" to the firm. Court records detail a relationship between Druyun and Boeing executives dating back to 2000 in which Druyun gave Boeing preferential treatment after securing jobs at the company for her son-in-law and daughter. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III ordered Druyun to serve seven months in a community facility in addition to the nine months in federal prison. She also received three years of probation. Prosecutors had asked for 16 months in prison. "I understand that this was wrong and I regret any damage my conduct may have caused to the Air Force," Druyun said in a quivering voice. Druyun said she felt "shame and remorse" that her 30-year tenure as a government employee "has been tarnished." Officials said Druyun gave false information in her original plea agreement and admitted the extent of her deceptions only after being subjected to a polygraph test. "She did great harm to the government and that harm is continuing now," said assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Wiechering. U.S. Attorney Paul J. McNulty called the sentence "a fair punishment" and said Druyun "put her own personal interests ahead of the United States Air Force.'' Boeing fired Druyun last November along with Boeing's chief financial officer, Michael M. Sears, who is under investigation in a broad federal probe of corruption and conflict of interest involving the aerospace giant. Druyun, 56, is the highest-ranking Pentagon official to be implicated in a corruption case since the 1980s. Druyun, a civilian, was at the grade of a lieutenant general when she retired and became vice president in charge of Boeing's missile defense systems in January 2003. Druyun's Boeing salary -- $250,000 plus a $50,000 signing bonus -- nearly doubled the top Pentagon pay for her position.
