FAIRLESS HILLS, Pa., Oct. 14 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania contractor pleaded guilty to fraud for supplying the Navy with metal that was falsely certified as having been heated-treated.
James Bullick of Fairless Hills admitted Tuesday his company, Bristol Alloys Inc., defrauded the U.S. government by providing the metal to be used in building submarines that did not meet contract requirements, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot reported.
Heat-treated metal is used in building Virginia-class submarines in Newport News, Va., and Groton, Conn., the newspaper said.
Bullick will face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $5 million fine at his January sentencing.
Spokesmen for the Navy and the U.S. attorney's office in Philadelphia would not say whether any of the substandard metal had been installed in submarines or whether there are safety implications.
The Navy has known of the matter since last October and has conducted detailed inspections of parts constructed with Bristol Alloys' materials, but would not provide further information, a spokesman said.
